Top 10 MotoGP Riders - #10 is Haystack

Well we can pretty much complete the rankings. 2. Lorenzo 1. Rossi. Its been interesting. Seems the pole took into account the season's overall performance; I dont think its saying who is the "best" rider in order; if it did i would hav put Rossi, Stoner, Lorenzo. I wonder what the pole ranking would look like for the top ten if the question was asked: 'If all were on a spec bike & tires, what would be the top ten riders?' Btw, i would still put Rossi, Stoner, Lorenzo but the rest might get shuffled a bit. Overall, i think the pole was fair.

Top 10 MotoGP Riders - 2nd Silver to Gorgeous George Lawrence

Jorge Lorenzo builds on the promise of his maiden MotoGP season to win four times and take the title fight to team-mate Valentino Rossi in 2009
Having exploded onto the MotoGP scene in his rookie season last year, Jorge Lorenzo added some substance to his occasionally erratic style in 2009 by providing Valentino Rossi his most convincing inter-team rivalry yet.

Hitting the headlines for winning only his third race in the top flight, as well as committing some rather spectacular accidents, a calmer Lorenzo entered the 2009 season determined to avoid the 'second-year blues' that often afflict promising debutants.

He certainly didn't waste time dispelling that myth, the Spaniard winning two of the first four races, even if a retirement on home soil at Jerez prevented him from pulling out an early advantage.

With Casey Stoner falling by the wayside by virtue of his impending sabbatical, the title challenge would boil down to a two-horse race. Still tight as the season approached the latter stages, two consecutive retirements at Donington Park and at Brno – where he had been leading – would provide the decisive blow to his assault.

While two more wins at Indianapolis and Estoril would follow, Lorenzo could not lift himself off the back foot and Rossi emerged as the winner by 45 points.

Testament to Lorenzo's potential missed opportunity, he was still a comfortable second position in the standings, yet only one other rider would suffer more retirements all season.

Retirements aside, there was a marked improvement in Lorenzo's performances in 2009 because, at times, even Rossi and Stonere were unable to touch him.

Provided he can add consistency to his game, it isn't surprising that Lorenzo is already being touted as the man to step into Rossi's shoes.

As tempted as he may have been by a switch to Honda, there is a sense Lorenzo has more to come and beating Rossi in the same team would certainly go down as an immense MotoGP coup…

Statistics:

Team: Fiat Yamaha Team
Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1

Championship position: 2nd
Points: 261

Races: 17
Pole positions: 5
Victories: 4
Podiums: 12
Best results: 1st (Motegi, Le Mans, Indianapolis, Misano)
Points finishes: 13

Top 10 MotoGP Rider of the Year 2008: 3rd

Top 10 MotoGP Rider of the Year 2009:

3 - Colin Edwards
4 - Casey Stoner
5 - Dani Pedrosa
6 - Marco Melandri
7 - Andrea Dovizioso
8 - Toni Elias
9 - Loris Capirossi
10 - Nicky Hayden

Well though the list is rationally argumented, I kinda disagree in some places,

1st I think Dovi's season was quite poor, yeah he won one race but we all saw how that happened, other than that, do you think if the top 4 had been in the same conditions of pressure as Dovi knowing they were out of the championship Dovi would have still won?, I think we all thought he would be faster considering his bike, maybe the bike wasn't that good, but then Pedders should have been higher on the list right?, basically I think it's contradictory to put Dani and Dovi so close (5th and 7th) because they were nowhere near close on the track.
IMO if you have Dani 5th Dovi should be around 10th.

2nd Melandri, I think it's really hard to judge cause nobody else had a Kawa, he had one 2nd place yeah, but in a weird race, with bike change in the middle. I don't know maybe the bike was a piece of .... and he deserves to be even higher but IMO I think I'd put him around 8th place.

3rd. Casey 4th? OK he made a stupid mistake in Valencia but unless you wanna blame him for being sick, I think the guy was as good as it was possible to be in his circumstances. Look at where the rest of Ducatis were. I'd say top 3 at least.

And last I think the top 4 were miles apart from the rest, I'll accept any order in these, but IMO they were in a class apart and that wasn't just due to the fact they had offcial support, I rate Colin, I really do, but IMO, a list where the 4 first are not occupied by Rossi, JLo, Dani and Casey is not correct.

Top 10 MotoGP Riders - 1st is Vale,one for the Boppers

With six wins, thirteen podiums and a ninth grand prix title, you vote Valentino Rossi as your top MotoGP rider of 2009...
Another year, another title for Valentino Rossi, the most successful motorcycle rider of all-time notching up a ninth grand prix crown in 2009.

Proving once again that he is always the safest bet for title predictions before the start of the season, Casey Stoner may have stolen the headlines in testing and Jorge Lorenzo snatched the initiative in the early rounds, but Rossi was the ultimately the man to beat over the course of the year.

On race pace, Lorenzo, Stoner (fitness permitting) and Dani Pedrosa occasionally had the edge on Rossi, but none of them could sustain it over the length of the season.

Indeed, Rossi's title win was deserving simply for the fact he was the most coveted rider in 2009, his six wins, seven pole position and 13 podium finishes proving better than any other rider. Indeed, consistency is one thing, speed is another, but together they are a potent cocktail for any rival to go up against.

Save for the odd blip, most notably Le Mans and Indianapolis, Rossi was the deserving champion in 2009, but the emergence of Lorenzo this year and the return of a fully fit Stoner suggests next season could be closer.

As we have seen though, Rossi is a racer and he'll be the first to welcome an increased level of competition in 2010…

Statistics:

Team: Fiat Yamaha Team
Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1

Championship position: 1st
Points: 306

Races: 17
Pole positions: 7
Victories: 6
Podiums: 13
Best results: 1st (Jerez, Barcelona, Assen, Sachsenring, Brno, Misano)
Points finishes: 15

Top 10 MotoGP Rider of the Year 2008: 1st

Top 10 MotoGP Rider of the Year 2009:

3 - Colin Edwards
4 - Casey Stoner
5 - Dani Pedrosa
6 - Marco Melandri
7 - Andrea Dovizioso
8 - Toni Elias
9 - Loris Capirossi
10 - Nicky Hayden

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Teomolca @ Dec 19 2009, 07:48 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Well though the list is rationally argumented, I kinda disagree in some places,

1st I think Dovi's season was quite poor, yeah he won one race but we all saw how that happened, other than that, do you think if the top 4 had been in the same conditions of pressure as Dovi knowing they were out of the championship Dovi would have still won?, I think we all thought he would be faster considering his bike, maybe the bike wasn't that good, but then Pedders should have been higher on the list right?, basically I think it's contradictory to put Dani and Dovi so close (5th and 7th) because they were nowhere near close on the track.
IMO if you have Dani 5th Dovi should be around 10th.

2nd Melandri, I think it's really hard to judge cause nobody else had a Kawa, he had one 2nd place yeah, but in a weird race, with bike change in the middle. I don't know maybe the bike was a piece of .... and he deserves to be even higher but IMO I think I'd put him around 8th place.

3rd. Casey 4th? OK he made a stupid mistake in Valencia but unless you wanna blame him for being sick, I think the guy was as good as it was possible to be in his circumstances. Look at where the rest of Ducatis were. I'd say top 3 at least.

And last I think the top 4 were miles apart from the rest, I'll accept any order in these, but IMO they were in a class apart and that wasn't just due to the fact they had offcial support, I rate Colin, I really do, but IMO, a list where the 4 first are not occupied by Rossi, JLo, Dani and Casey is not correct.
I agree. It's difficult to rate Melandri and Dovi for similar reasons. Melandri had no teammate, not support and split opinions on how strong the bike was so start the year. Dovi had a teammate but comparing one's self to an alien is not a very accurate measure. When comparing his results to Elias', Dovi wasn't entirely impressive. A top 10 rider, but his results do not match the hype. And as far as Edwards, like you said, a great guy and a fan favorite, but he does not belong in the top four.

Like I said, a lot of bias in the polling.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Teomolca @ Dec 19 2009, 05:48 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Well though the list is rationally argumented, I kinda disagree in some places,

1st I think Dovi's season was quite poor, yeah he won one race but we all saw how that happened, other than that, do you think if the top 4 had been in the same conditions of pressure as Dovi knowing they were out of the championship Dovi would have still won?, I think we all thought he would be faster considering his bike, maybe the bike wasn't that good, but then Pedders should have been higher on the list right?, basically I think it's contradictory to put Dani and Dovi so close (5th and 7th) because they were nowhere near close on the track.
IMO if you have Dani 5th Dovi should be around 10th.

2nd Melandri, I think it's really hard to judge cause nobody else had a Kawa, he had one 2nd place yeah, but in a weird race, with bike change in the middle. I don't know maybe the bike was a piece of .... and he deserves to be even higher but IMO I think I'd put him around 8th place.

3rd. Casey 4th? OK he made a stupid mistake in Valencia but unless you wanna blame him for being sick, I think the guy was as good as it was possible to be in his circumstances. Look at where the rest of Ducatis were. I'd say top 3 at least.

And last I think the top 4 were miles apart from the rest, I'll accept any order in these, but IMO they were in a class apart and that wasn't just due to the fact they had offcial support, I rate Colin, I really do, but IMO, a list where the 4 first are not occupied by Rossi, JLo, Dani and Casey is not correct.

Wow, great analysis. I totally agree. Very good. (Even if I am on your ignore button )