World championship best years

When we compare world champions of different years we typically look at the number of world championship and then debate circumstances of those victories.

This has made me think about what other metrics we can look at when evaluating riders so I've pulled up the first one, which I've never seen anyone evaluate, that been by what margin did the champion beat 2nd place. For this comparison Ago is the winner for his 69 world champion where 2nd got 44.8% of the points he got. Ago is also in last for his 67 victory where 2nd got 100% of the points he got.

What other metrics can we play with?

Man I am SO ....... SICK of all the rear view mirror ..... I am sick of the Rossi, Stoner, Mm ..... And this is even worse. Do y'all think you are solving any ....... thing by chewing this cud over and over again?

Watch old races, enjoy them for what they are, but otherwise you are all just wanking off to hear yourselves.

Get over it for .... sakes.

Now you've done it. You pissed off Mick. Your math is not mathing. The best year ever is 2006. Its a fact based on people not maths.

mikesbytes said:

What other metrics can we play with?

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Subjective reason is all that matters

Imo Marc's 2019 season is the greatest ever. Longest season to date until that year, only one DNF that wasn't his fault, top 2 finish in every race, points record, all in the age of mechanical equality. I'm a Marc fanboy yes, but it's just a beast of a season and it becomes harder to be that consistent the more rounds a season has.

#2 spot would be Doohan's 97. Very similar to 2019, with all top 2 finishes except for one DNF, 10 consecutive win streak, just pure superiority. The reason is not #1 is because it was a shorter season and the competition level (Crivi injured, Okada as his main rival).

#3 I'd place Rossi's 2003, even though I dislike the man. 16 podiums out of 16, great numbers overall, insane points per race stat, just lacks a couple more wins to be at the level of the first two imo.

Follow-ups would be (in chronological order): Spencer's 85, Gardner's 87, Doohan's 94, Rossi's 05, Lorenzo's 10, Stoner's 11, Jorge's 12, Marc's 14 (if only because of the 10 win streak). I'm not sure about Ago's dominance since the man practically enjoyed of a massive mechanical advantage and the seasons were short, but I guess he deserves his dues too; it's just hard for me to judge those seasons compared to "modern" era grand prix racing, whose beginnings I place in the late 70s with Kenny Roberts and the dominating surge of Japanese bikes, tech advancements, etc.

When we look at seasons and one rider on the best bike dominates all season, like MM, Doohan and Ago, that may be the manufacturer’s, rider’s, sponsors’ and fans of that combo’s wet dream but for me, that makes for a particularly boring season of racing.

Give me some closely matched competition, rivalry, weather drama, luck good and bad and we have an interesting season that keeps us on our toes.

MdubSTYLIE said:

Now you've done it. You pissed off Mick

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Let me know when its safe to come out

Wins in the championship year brings up a sea of MV Agusta world champions, if you were a top rider on an MV Agusta then you didn't have much competition. Ignoring the MV Agusta victories what stands out is Doohan, Marquez and Rossi. If you want a reason to write Mir off, look where he is in this list.... Also note that a lot of the more recent world champion years are at the low end of victories showing that competition is closer than it was in the 500's days

It’s all very subjective. Too many generational dissimilarities, too many variables. Been said a million times, but charts and statistics can be used to prove multiple points of view. One of the great things about the current iteration of the sport, is the relative closeness between factory and satellite teams. In the ‘70s and ‘80s privateer teams were essentially a joke with talented riders regularly being lapped half-way through the race by riders on factory bikes.

Sir Humphrey Appleby

"You can prove anything with statistics"

Keshav said:

It’s all very subjective. Too many generational dissimilarities, too many variables. Been said a million times, but charts and statistics can be used to prove multiple points of view. One of the great things about the current iteration of the sport, is the relative closeness between factory and satellite teams. In the ‘70s and ‘80s privateer teams were essentially a joke with talented riders regularly being lapped half-way through the race by riders on factory bikes.

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This is where the GOAT debates stem from, while Ago has the most world championships the competition is quite different to when Rossi won his championships. The reality is that it’s not comparable between era’s so far apart.