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Special feature

Motorsport.com's Top 20 motorcycle racers of 2018, Part 2

Motorsport.com reveals who makes its top 10 in its first-ever countdown of the top motorcycle racers of the year.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

If you missed Friday's first part, click here (free to read):

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10. United Kingdom Leon Haslam

British Superbike champion, 3rd in Suzuka 8 Hours

BSB's 'Showdown' championship format may be deliberately geared up to stop one rider running away with the title, but this year there was simply no stopping Haslam romping to honours in 2018 aboard his Bournemouth Kawasaki.

A strong start for Suzuki upstart Bradley Ray and six-time BSB champion Shane Byrne on the PBM Ducati suggested a thrilling three-way title fight could be in the offing, but Ray lost his way in the middle of the year while Byrne was removed from contention by a testing crash that left him serious injuries, enough to curtail his season (and maybe his career).

Haslam on the other hand hit his stride with five successive wins, opening up a comfortable championship lead and went on another rampage of five wins on the trot before the points were reset for the final three rounds.

Jake Dixon put up a brave fight, winning both Oulton Park races, but Haslam won three of the last five races - bringing his tally up to 15 for the year - to put the title beyond reach, and claim the prize that has eluded him for over a decade.

Now he faces an even greater challenge as he fills the vacancy left by Tom Sykes in Kawasaki's WSBK stable in 2019, which means going up against the championship's dominant rider of recent years, Jonathan Rea.

Leon Haslam, Kawasaki Racing

Leon Haslam, Kawasaki Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

Retrospective: Haslam's near misses

Bizarrely, Haslam's British Superbike title was his first championship success of any kind since he won the Gilera National Scooter series in 1997. Here, we look at some of the other times the 'Pocket Rocket' came close to glory:

British Superbike, 2006 - Riding for Airwaves Ducati, Haslam finished second no fewer than 11 times over the course of the season, but a late surge wasn't quite enough to beat Honda man Ryuichi Kiyonari to the title.

World Superbike, 2010 - After finishing second in BSB again in 2008 (albeit a long way behind a dominant Byrne), Haslam switched to WSBK in 2009 and joined the Alstare Suzuki team in 2010. He opened his campaign with a win in Phillip Island and took two more wins, but ended up runner-up in the championship to Aprilia's Max Biaggi.

British Superbike, 2016 - Haslam returned to BSB in 2016 as a factory-backed Kawasaki rider, following a mixed spell in WSBK with BMW, Honda and Aprilia. Once again, Byrne was the rider to beat, but Haslam took their title battle all the way to the Brands Hatch decider, only for a crash in race one to wreck his chances.

British Superbike, 2017 - For many, Haslam was the rightful champion of the 2017 BSB season, as he led both Byrne and Josh Brookes on points heading into the final race. But a horror 170mph crash after suffering brake failure at Hawthorns left him with a broken wrist and ankle, as well as opening the door for Byrne to claim a sixth title.

Leon Haslam, Kawasaki

Leon Haslam, Kawasaki

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

9. Spain Jorge Martin

Moto3 champion

In retrospect, Martin was perhaps overqualified for Moto3 in 2018. He was already making a good case for 'fastest Moto3 rider' status in 2017 when he took nine pole positions, but he had little luck in the rough and tumble of the races, and had to wait until the season finale to finally win a race.

Martin stayed for another year and again excelled in qualifying and this time in the races as well. Martin could have easily had the most dominant start to a Moto3 campaign by anyone, if not for an unusual amount of bad luck.

He won five times, and was also in win contention in the other four races but bad tyre choice in mixed conditions in Argentina, being wiped out by Aron Canet and Marco Bezzecchi in Jerez and Le Mans respectively, and a crash from the lead in Barcelona left Martin empty-handed at those tracks.

As a result, while clearly the strongest rider, he only took a seven-point lead into the summer break and he had even more misfortune when racing resumed at Brno after an FP1 crash left him injured and forced him to skip that round.

He returned a week later in Austria and Bezzecchi had to try his best to hold off the far-from-fully-fit Martin for the win – the first time the Spaniard was beaten to a victory on-track all year. Martin was less dominant for the rest of the season but still won twice and found consistency that allowed him to secure the title.

Martin is taking Miguel Oliveira’s place at the Ajo KTM team in Moto2, and at the moment it seems like it is only a question of how many years he will spend in the intermediate class – if all goes according to plan, he could be the hottest talent by the time the next contract cycle begins in 2020.

However, Martin still needs to tame his raw talent a bit as he tends to injure himself too often. He has now skipped five races in the past three years, and he already has already encountered a setback in Moto2 – he broke his foot in testing, which will surely have an effect on his start to the 2019 season.

Jorge Martin, Del Conca Gresini Racing Moto3

Jorge Martin, Del Conca Gresini Racing Moto3

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

Jorge Lorenzo on his namesake Martin:

"I am sure Jorge will be champion in the bigger categories," said Lorenzo, who knows Martin well from their shared training sessions. "He was born to ride a bike. He has that talent.

"He's been the best this year without any doubt and it would have been unfair to not clinch the title because he was the only able able to run away alone in several races."

Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team with Jorge Martin, Del Conca Gresini Racing Moto3

Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team with Jorge Martin, Del Conca Gresini Racing Moto3

Photo by: Scherazade Mulia Saraswati

8. Spain Maverick Vinales

4th in MotoGP

Vinales' second season at Yamaha has at times looked a complete disaster. Granted, the results weren't terrible, but he was repeatedly held back by obvious chinks in his armour, the kind MotoGP frontrunners aren't really supposed to have.

He was brutally slow off the line almost every time, handing out positions to his rivals like candy. He often had little pace in the first few laps, giving up his victory hopes before the battle even began in earnest. He was not fast at all in the wet.

The 2018-specification YZR-M1 was no championship contender and clearly flawed, but teammate Valentino Rossi just managed it better for the vast majority of the season, especially on race days. And Vinales, for his part, was so obviously frustrated by it all, which spilled over into an acrimonious and distracting split with crew chief Ramon Forcada.

However, even though the Spaniard himself was happy to admit the season was a big disappointment, it was not the trainwreck it often seemed like. It wasn't even close. Fourth in the standings is nothing to be sniffed at, and while there was a chasm between him and champion Marc Marquez, Rossi was only a handful of points ahead.

And crucially, when the much-maligned Yamaha was given its best chance to break a painful record winless streak, it was Vinales who grabbed it and with relative ease, too. After a trying year, Phillip Island was a timely reminder of why he had a 2019-20 deal in place before any other rider on the grid.

With so much obvious room for improvement in several areas, Vinales will have a better chance than anyone of toppling Marquez if he and Yamaha simply address their glaring faults.

Maverick Viñales, Yamaha Factory Racing

Maverick Viñales, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

Great lap: Vinales bags last-gasp pole at Valencia

One-lap pace is not very high at all on the list of issues Maverick Vinales needs to tackle, but it did let him down on occasion in 2018 – the 'clutch' last-second lap didn't always come together, whether it be in FP3 or Q2. Valencia, however, was as 'clutch' as it gets.

A run of three wet practice sessions consigned the two works Yamahas to Q1, but in truth they didn't look spectacular in the dry either, which was perhaps to be expected at a venue that was particularly unkind to the M1 the year before.

Indeed, with the track having only recently dried, Rossi went no further than Q1, and while Vinales advanced, he only just did. The Spaniard only narrowly saw off the threat from a still-hobbled Jorge Lorenzo and LCR Honda rider Takaaki Nakagami, while session pace-setter Andrea Iannone lapped almost half a second quicker.

Initial laps in Q1 did not reach that Iannone benchmark, but Vinales was not matching his own pace either, posting a banker almost a second slower than provisional pole and then scrapping a similar-looking flyer to end his first run.

He came into the pits and disembarked, whispering a quick word to his departing crew chief Ramon Forcada as his team swapped the rear tyre, Half a minute later, he was back out on track, a rider suddenly transformed.

Two flying laps remained. The first was a 1m31.359s, the second a slightly faster 1m31.312s, no more than 0.07s apart in any of the four sectors, both good enough for pole.

They maybe shouldn't have been, as usual pole king Marquez had hurt himself in a Q2 crash, Zarco fell while on a demonstrably quicker lap and Dovizioso would've prevailed if he put his sectors together.

But to even haul himself into contention was something spectacular – and while it mattered little for the race given the deluge, it was a timely reminder for Yamaha of what Vinales is capable of as it makes its decisions for 2019.

Maverick Viñales, Yamaha Factory Racing

Maverick Viñales, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

7. Spain Alex Rins

5th in MotoGP

If any MotoGP firm has earned the benefit of a doubt when it comes to taking a gamble on a young rider, it's Suzuki. After all, why should it worry about integrating Joan Mir given its recent track record with young riders? Not only did the Maverick Vinales project prove an unqualified success over 2015-16, but his successor Rins has also come good.

He's not won a race on the GSX-RR, but in every other respect the run-in to Rins' second campaign mirrors that of Vinales. Like Vinales, he closed out with seven top-six finishes, three of those podiums. Like Vinales, he established himself as the leader rider over a more experienced teammate.

Yet, unlike Vinales – who by that point had already signed with Yamaha – Rins is staying put at Suzuki, which makes his progress all the sweeter for the Hamamatsu firm.

Admittedly, maybe Suzuki shouldn't get too much credit for identifying that a rider who finished top-five in all of his five seasons across Moto3 and Moto2 had potential. But Rins' transformation into a MotoGP ace was no foregone conclusion during a patchy, injury-ravaged rookie campaign, or when he crashed in three of four races to start 2018.

Was Suzuki right to pick him over Johann Zarco, we couldn't help but ask last year. Was it right to give him such an early extension, we had to ponder in June. Now it has been vindicated on both counts – and Rins, whose presence out front has gone from being seen as a novelty to business as usual, has emerged as a genuine star in the process.

Podium: second place Alex Rins, Team Suzuki MotoGP

Podium: second place Alex Rins, Team Suzuki MotoGP

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

Analysis: Rins' unusual race weekends

On many race weekends in 2018, Rins was reminiscent of Valentino Rossi in recent years – a rider who more often than not tends to hold back in practice, but then usually finds pace either at the right moment in Q2 or in the race.

In Rins' case, as he continued to get to grips with the tracks – some of which he still had to learn on a MotoGP bike after skipping the relevant races of the previous year through injury – this pattern was especially glaring.

He averaged 14th place in opening practice, 11th place in FP2 and 12th in FP3 – but ninth in qualifying. His average race finish was fifth, and even extrapolating from the races in which he retired only knocks him down one spot.

Andrea Iannone was the better qualifier over the two seasons, and even extended his lead in 2018 – a three-tenths median gap in the relevant qualifying session, and a 13-5 head-to-head score compared to an 8-5 the year before.

But in race trim the tides had turned. Rins trailed Iannone by an average of 5.461s in the dry races that both had finished last year (and there were not a lot of those), only to outrun him by 4.531s in the same metric over the course of the year.

Alex Rins, Team Suzuki MotoGP

Alex Rins, Team Suzuki MotoGP

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

6. Spain Jorge Lorenzo

9th in MotoGP

Lorenzo's 2018 season can be neatly split into three parts: from Qatar to Le Mans, the race that sealed his fate as a Ducati rider; from Mugello to Misano, where Lorenzo re-emerged as a race-winning force after his period in the wilderness, and Aragon to Valencia - the final section of the year that was ruined by injury.

It's essentially a truism at this point to suggest that, if MotoGP's silly season wasn't quite so, well, silly, Lorenzo and Ducati would have almost certainly extended their partnership for another two seasons. And a full-blown title challenge, based on the evidence seen this year, could well have been on the cards for 2019.

As it was, Ducati head honcho Claudio Domenicali made the call to ditch Lorenzo, only to then watch the Spaniard score his first win in red leathers in Mugello. That was swiftly followed by a second victory in Barcelona, by which time it had been announced that Lorenzo was Honda-bound for 2019.

With his future secured, Lorenzo didn't take his foot off the gas, and after two so-so showings at some of his least favourite tracks on the calendar, he ran teammate Andrea Dovizioso close at Brno, took a third win at the Red Bull Ring, and then scored three poles on the trot before the Turn 1 crash at Aragon that essentially marked the end of his year.

Luckily for Lorenzo, he recovered from the injuries he sustained in a frightening practice crash in Thailand just in time to take part in his Ducati farewell race at Valencia and then begin his new Honda adventure in post-season testing. Tracking his progress in 2019 with Marquez in the same garage promises to be fascinating.

Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team

Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

Lorenzo on his bittersweet Ducati season:

In a recent conversation with Motorsport.com, Lorenzo insisted that he always was convinced that he was going to be competitive on the Ducati, although he admitted he needed more time than he expected.

"I always get there," he said. "I have the talent to be fast on the bike, and especially because I am a like a sponge. I work a lot, and if things don't go right, I just work twice as hard.

"The problems were [a lack of] time, rush and the magnitude of the change. It wasn't easy switching from a Yamaha to a Ducati. For me it was like changing categories. I would say my step from the 250cc Aprilia to the MotoGP Yamaha was less dramatic than my switch [from Yamaha] to Ducati.

"That bike was all the opposite to me and that is why it was a big shock the first times I tried it. Some people thought I could have won the title the first year with Ducati, but I had Marquez in front of me, who was riding the Honda throughout the last five years." 

Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team

Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

5. Italy Francesco Bagnaia

Moto2 champion

The fact that Bagnaia spent the first two years of his grand prix racing career playing second fiddle to teammate and then-fellow Rossi protege Romano Fenati made for a particularly jarring contrast in 2018 – not that Bagnaia's rise needs that point of comparison to be recognised as meteoric.

Tied down to a 2019-20 Pramac MotoGP deal by Ducati on the strength of his rookie Moto2 season last year, in a deal that seemed a canny piece of business then but looks a steal now, Bagnaia started repaying the Bologna firm's faith right away as he won the season opener.

Another seven wins followed, with six pole positions to boot. Nobody else in the field had more than three of either.

He didn't dominate, kept honest for Oliveira for most of the season, but Bagnaia's title was certainly more convincing than the final nine-point gap suggests. That was a direct result of a first-lap Valencia melee in which he was a passenger, having wrapped up the championship the round before.

Ducati could have scarcely asked for more, given this was a pretty strong Moto2 field, providing three more MotoGP debutants for 2019 besides Bagnaia, while its two recent returnees from the premier class - Sam Lowes and Hector Barbera - together scored just under a fifth of his points tally.

Post-season testing suggested Bagnaia will enjoy a smooth transition to his new Desmosedici premier class bike, which would come as little surprise. Having convinced Ducati that he's the real deal a year ago, Bagnaia presented a very strong case to the rest of the world in 2018.

Francesco Bagnaia, Alma Pramac Racing

Francesco Bagnaia, Alma Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

Bagnaia on his journey to the Moto2 title:

"The most difficult moment was 2013. I went from CEV [Moto3], where I was one of the strongest, into the world championship, where I was one of the weakest [he scored no points that year].

"When you are young, this is definitely something that doesn’t help. We can say that I had to think hard, but it’s something that gave me a lot of strength and pushed me to continue. Maybe without that year, I wouldn’t be here, because I would have been weaker mentally.

"Sky Racing Team VR46 and the Academy have done an amazing job, because if it wasn’t for them I would probably be at home. I owe them a lot, but also to my family and to the Aspar team. These last two teams I rode for made me develop into a proper rider and one of the strongest.

"Thanks to them, today we are here, but also thanks to my family, my sister who has followed me all year, and also my girlfriend. Together we’ve achieved something incredible. Together is a beautiful word and it sums up this season well. Together we are world champions."

Francesco Bagnaia, Sky Racing Team VR46

Francesco Bagnaia, Sky Racing Team VR46

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

4. Italy Valentino Rossi

3rd in MotoGP

Whether you're a fan of his or not, it's impossible not to be amazed by Rossi - by his longevity, his capacity to learn, even at this late stage of his career, his passion, his desire. That he has now gone 18 months without a MotoGP win has in no way dimmed his motivation, as evidenced by the fact he has committed himself to two more years at Yamaha.

By the time that deal expires, he'll be a few months away from turning 42. And, while 'The Doctor' can't keep competing at the highest level indefinitely, it still seems premature to declare with certainty this will be his last MotoGP contract.

For the majority of the 2018 campaign, the Yamaha was not a winning bike. And yet, Rossi squeezed as many points out of it as humanly possible - Misano was probably the first race of the year where the Italian could be said to have underperformed - and as such he held on to the runner-up spot in the standings for the majority of the season.

Rossi's first real mistake of the season was a big one: his Sepang crash cost him a strong chance of ending that long winless streak. And given teammate Vinales had just won in Australia, this was important chance to regain momentum in the intra-team battle that went begging. That was followed by another missed opportunity in the wet at Valencia.

Vinales' speed in post-season testing means the momentum is back in the Spaniard's side of the Yamaha garage heading into 2019 - and it's now up to Rossi to respond to that renewed threat.

Valentino Rossi, Yamaha Factory Racing

Valentino Rossi, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

Five-time 500cc champion Mick Doohan on Rossi:

In a recent conversation with Motorsport.com, Doohan was asked about Rossi - someone the Australian feels should be described as unique in the history of the sport.

"I'm not surprised by Valentino's performance," said Doohan. "But there are not many people in other disciplines able to do that at that level, and for so much time. Not even golfers. Rossi's commitment and consistency are incredible. It is very positive for the sport and an undeniable incentive for the championship.

"There are examples that demonstrate the capacity he has, despite not having the best bike at the moment. On Saturdays, even after having a bad qualifying and ending up behind, he is able to come back on Sundays and be at the top."

Valentino Rossi, Yamaha Factory Racing

Valentino Rossi, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

3. United Kingdom Jonathan Rea

World Superbike champion, 3rd in Suzuka 8 Hours

Rea proved virtually unstoppable during the 2018 WSBK season, the Kawasaki man romping to a record fourth straight title by 189 points to match Carl Fogarty's all-time tally, while surpassing the all-time win and podium records.

This proved no small order, however, as he battled injury early season and was shackled by new technical regulations in the opening rounds aimed at curbing his and his team's dominance.

But the tide shifted in favour of Rea from Imola onwards thanks to a front-end tweak with his ZX-10RR, and he would go on to end the year with 17 wins in his pocket, including every race from July's Laguna Seca round onwards.

Where Rea lies in the pantheon of WSBK greats is a topic of hot debate, but the numbers, and the way in which he has achieved them, speak for themselves. It's hard to see the Rea/Kawasaki juggernaut being halted anytime soon.

Race winner Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing

Race winner Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

Rea's incredible WSBK statistics:

Career Starts – 224

Career Wins – 71 (Record)

Career Podiums – 134 (Record)

Career Poles – 16

2018 Wins – 17 of 25

2018 doubles – 6 of 12

2018 podiums – 22 of 25

2018 points – 545 (his 2017 record is 556)

List of all-time WSBK winners:

Pos. Rider Wins Titles
1 United Kingdom Jonathan Rea 71 4
2 United Kingdom Carl Fogarty 59 4
3 Australia Troy Bayliss 52 3
4 Japan Noriyuki Haga 43 -
5 United Kingdom Tom Sykes 34 1
6 Australia Troy Corser 33 2
7 United States Colin Edwards 31 2
8 United Kingdom Chaz Davies 29 -
9 United States Doug Polen 27 2
10 Spain Carlos Checa 24 1

Bold denotes active rider

Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing

Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

2. Italy Andrea Dovizioso

2nd in MotoGP

Given that the same rider became champion in MotoGP for the third year in a row, the series has been fortunate not to fall into repetitive dullness. And we largely have to thank Dovizioso for that.

As Marquez’s previous main rivals Rossi and Lorenzo have been unable to challenge for the past two years, the Honda rider could have easily destroyed his opposition to the point where MotoGP ceased to be entertaining. But Dovizioso has been able to keep it close and create an on-track rivalry that is now one of the greatest in series history.

Unusually, it's one that’s completely free of personal bickering, but still delivers on the track, as the duo have had plenty of duels where the winner was decided only on the final lap, or indeed the last corner.

Dovizioso had the upper hand in that regard last year, and also started 2018 by beating Marquez in Qatar. But his title challenge went sideways very quickly after that. He crashed three times in four races (albeit in Jerez it wasn't his fault) and then found himself overshadowed by not only Marquez but his rejuvenated teammate Lorenzo as well.

But Dovizioso responded perfectly and put together a superb second half of the season where regardless of track, tyre choice or weather, he, along with Marquez, was virtually guaranteed to be in victory contention.

He beat Marquez at Brno and Misano, but he lost to the Spaniard at Aragon and Thailand and crashed out as he struggled to deny the Honda rider third straight victory at Motegi, conceding the title.

Dovi's numbers overall may not be as good as they were in 2017, but he and Ducati made a solid step with the bike, which now doesn’t really seem to have any clear weak tracks. As such, the Italian looks much better positioned to challenge for the 2019 title.

Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team

Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

Marquez praises his biggest rival of the last two years:

Nice words are not so common among MotoGP riders, and even less so when they come from a direct rival. That is why Marquez's words about Dovizioso are important.

"From Andrea I learned how to manage everything, the season and the races," he said. "Without a rival, there is no championship. He is the one that makes you grow, improve and wake up in the mornings to go training because you know the other one is doing it. This is what you try to keep and this is what Dovi has given me."

Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team

Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

1. Spain Marc Marquez

MotoGP champion

As tempting as it is to write that Marquez reached new heights in 2018, there is no data to back that up. Nothing he did in 2018 outweighs being champion in his rookie year or taking 10 consecutive wins the year after, and this year's Honda being one of his better MotoGP bikes ultimately made for a fairly routine title.

But therein lies the milestone of sorts, one that should be painful and dispiriting to his rivals and their fans – that the championship battle was so routine and processional, relegated to an afterthought for the majority of the campaign.

For Marquez, 2018 was a veritable 'greatest hits' compilation. A clash with Valentino Rossi in Argentina, a few last-lap duels with Andrea Dovizioso, a whole bunch of crashes in practice and qualifying, and wins at COTA and Sachsenring – the two tracks whose presence on the calendar means he practically starts every season with 50 points on the board.

As always, he was ragged and aggressive – sometimes needlessly so – on-track, and yet ultra-composed and professional off it, speaking with authority on sporting matters and dodging the invitation to publicly feud with his fellow greats when he was called out.

At Honda he had no rival, while Yamaha was not good enough to trouble him. Ducati was, but only at the point where too many results had already been lost. But even then, Marquez just wasn't leaving enough points on the table to be defeated. His best weekends were better than anyone's, his worst weekends were better than most others' best.

It was by no means a perfect season – Argentina was a torrid mess – but that only adds to the “I'm too good for this” aura that Marquez's stroll to the 2018 title couldn't help but convey. When he is asked, over and over again, whether he feels like changing teams or even maybe leaving MotoGP for F1, the implication is that he must be getting bored.

Marquez, who is only 25, has always refuted such suggestions, and would probably be delighted to continue to dominate one of the most reliably entertaining championships around for a few years yet. And since there is nowhere higher for him to go, his rivals will have to either pull themselves up to his level or be resigned to continue making up the numbers.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

Marquez on his 2018 success:

"I'm in one of my best moments, that is for sure. If this is the best or not, it is difficult to say because in this sport not everything depends on you.

"Leaving aside my shoulder problems [he underwent surgery on his shoulder this month], I feel good. Let's say I have everything organised: my life outside the tracks and inside of them."

Crew chief Santi Hernandez on what makes Marquez so special:

“Marc is like [tennis icon Rafael] Nadal: a man that never gives up, that takes risks and that gives it his all. A man that in really critical moments is able to do something implausible.

"If I have to point out the key of this year, I will pick the way Marc faced events in Argentina and how he recovered from that moment. Others in that situation would have changed their approach.”

Honda team boss Alberto Puig on Marquez's qualities:

"From my personal point of view, he’s someone that pays attention and listens, accepts advice even though he is a world champion. This is quite rare in a champion of his level. He’s always in constant evolution.

"He adapts very well to every kind of circumstances and especially to the bike he’s got. Many people don’t take that into account, but the fact that a rider wins races doesn’t mean his bike is good.

"Sometimes you have to add that thing the bike is missing, and Marc is the one with the best ability to do that. Others don’t know how to do it."

Champion Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Champion Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

Compiled by Oriol Puigdemont, Jamie Klein, Val Khorounzhiy, David Gruz, Lewis Duncan and Mark Bremer

Previous article Motorsport.com's Top 20 motorcycle racers of 2018, Part 1
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