That is a good list Talps. However, would you consider a perfect season to be one of the best in the "dominance" category? I see you put 97 up there, but did you know there have been much more dominating seasons? Yes, actually, there have been perfect seasons! That means that the rider scored wins in the races that were counted for the championship. At one time Talps, the rider was allowed DNFs and only the best finishes from a certain number of events were counted. That means that Giacomo Agostini has had perfect seasons, and yes, more than once. And yes, not just in the top category of the day. They use to tally a "gross" points and a "nett" points to calculate the title. It was actually a good system because it was conceived to be a more fair system by providing an allowance for technical advantages that may be evened out over the season, or allowed for some DNFs that may be cause by mechanicals or other rider errors (and you know how we love to argue about certain season that have not been all that impressive or "fair" because of other's misfortunes or technical advantages.) So if we are gonna make a list of "best" of all time in regards to "dominance" then perhaps 1972 would trump 1997. After all, Ago had a perfect season and then some. At the time the best 6 results were counted. That year there were 13 rounds, Ago scored 11 wins. Yes, amazing, eh, almost twice the number of wins he needed to be counted "perfect". Pretty much the same thing happened in 71, that year he only scored 8 wins, but he only needed 6, so another "perfect" season. Same thing goes for 1970-1968, but not just in the 500 class, but dude did it in the 350 class as well. Yeah, imagine that, in 68, 69, 70, & 71, Ago not only scored a "perfect" season in 500s but also in 350s, the very same year! So I ask you, would those be considered the "best" most "dominant" seasons of all time?
Here is my point, 1. yes, those were impressive, and if we are gonna go on raw points versus circumstance, then all you need to do is look to Ago and you will have your top 5 seasons (and then you could probably add another 3-5 years because he had some where he scored either a win or a second place all season.) But of course, as this thread has shown, a bit of analysis and circumstance should be factored into this equation. You laughed at me when I said Doohan's 97 title was not as dominant as you may think considering the circumstances. Your reply was to say I was desperately trying to belittle his accomplishment to pad the argument that Lorenzo deserved honorable mention in this thread of "bests" (and you concluded its because I hate Rossi so much that I relish in somebody else beating him therefore my advocating for 2010.) All this time on the forum and you still can't wrap your head around the fact that I admire Rossi but just don't think he's God and that he has benefited from the particular nature of the sport, something you deny. But I'll probably never convince you, and of course, alot of it, if not most, is just banter on my part to get a rise out of you guys because its so easy to do given your particular type of blind worship. Perhaps some day if we sit around having a beer, you will see that Rossi, like Pedrosa, like Stoner, though they are not what I'd consider my favorite riders, are infact people I deeply admire simply because I love this sport. It took Rising Sun to come on here and tell you what is what about Doohan's 97 season, and we both know the man wasn't hating on Mick, right? But notice Sun mentioned that 97 had some similar elements of circumstance as did the Ago years. Hating?
Anyway, back on about your list above, it really is a good one, I think 07, 08 and 2010 deserves mention over either 01 or 05 (not sure which myself). The thing about 97 is that yes, on sheer numbers, it looks very impressive but on real competition, not so much (yes, I know you disagree). But I'm thinking, if we are gonna mention 97 then surely 2010 must be mentioned because of the historical record of it (being the most points ever scored and all). I can't really argue with you on 06 & 92, both "brilliant" & "entertaining" as you correctly say, but I'd add "gritty" to 92. 01 is deserves mention because Rossi has become somewhat of a standard in the sport, so this being his first top category season, and he did it with commanding dominance, it deserves some mention, just not sure it it was "best" considering that the other brands had not been sorted and still under the 500 hangover. 05, is equally amazing because it represented a C change in the thinking of one of the two top manufactures, Yamaha, and though the short lived rivalry was at a fever pitch between Sete & Vale (but if you look at history, certainly this one has not been the most impactful). But then again, that could also be said about 2010, and with more of a real rivalry in that unlike Sete, the challenger to Rossi could actually battle back and forth rather than the usual fold by Gibers. Rossi vs Lorenzo is more of the category of Rainey vs Schwantz because they actually beat eachother, where as Rossi vs Sete, or Rossi vs Biaggi, was more about drama then actual on track battle.
So about this thread, it takes a bit of analysis to determine what might be considered the "best" of all season. Its been a fun discussion. If we are gonna go on sheer dominance, look no further that Ago, and the thread is over. But if you are gonna consider the depth, quality, historical significance of all time points within the given structure and events, and real rivalry of the season, then surely, without a doubt, 2010 is among them.
