to Hailwood's two. (Coincidental-
ly, the same year Hailwood and
Phil Read were equal on points
in the 250 class, but Hailwood
was crowned by virtue of better
subsidiary results.)
But does the best rider always
win? Is the championship much
more than a sometimes-cynical
game of percentages, rewarding
reliability and a knack of playing
percentages as much as speed?
And the lucky luxury of having
the fastest bike?
For the past three decades
and more, I've had the (not self-
appointed) task of picking the
10 best riders of the year, to be
enshrined in the bookshelves of
dedicated fans in the pages of
the august annual Motocourse.
It's sort of a privilege, but there
are pitfalls. And it shouldn't
be taken as much more than
bar-stool expertise. But it looks
important.
Sometimes it's easy. Some-
times agonizing, knowing that
my flippant seat-of-pants views
will upset riders who might (or
might not) fall short in some
areas compared with their rivals,
A
cliffhanger. A title go-
ing to the wire. Not that
unusual—in fact, in more
than 70 years of GP racing there
have been 19 occasions when
the premier-class championship
was decided at the last race, al-
though only one occasion when
two rivals ended the season
equal on points.
That was in 1967. MV versus
Honda, Giacomo Agostini versus
Mike Hailwood. Ago got the
nod, because, though they were
equal on five wins apiece, the
Italian had three second places
P126
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
THE TOP 10 TANGLE
Will this year's MotoGP
Championship actually
produce the best
racer? Bagnaia will
most likely think so.
PHOTO: GOLD & GOOSE
