Much like last season’s championship conclusion, the battle for bikesportnews.com's MotoGP rider of the year was a close-run two horse race in 2021.

Monster Energy Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo claimed the crown with 40% of the vote while Ducati Lenovo’s Pecco Bagnaia kept him honest to the flag thanks to his 34% share.

The Italian’s garage mate Jack Miller narrowly claimed third from Pramac’s impressive rookie Jorge Martin, while Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez trailed by just a couple of votes to complete the top five on his comeback season despite ongoing injury rehab.