This year’s MotoGP World Championship proved to be as competitive as ever, with a number of surprising and disappointing performers throughout the course of the season. In this edition of Rated, CycleOnline.com.au looks at the campaigns of seven riders in the 2017 series.

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Rider: Marc Marquez
Rating: A+
Rundown: It was a stellar season for Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez, who wrapped up his fourth MotoGP crown on Sunday. Despite losing the championship lead multiple times, the Spaniard was able to finish out the year with a 37-point advantage. It didn’t come without a scare though, as he almost lost the front-end at last weekend’s finale in Valencia while challenging up front.

Rider: Andrea Dovizioso
Rating: A
Rundown: It was a strong and surprising year for the Ducati rider, who concluded the championship in second with six race victories to his name. The Italian was right in the title hunt until a poor outing at Phillip Island damaged his hopes, while crashing out of the finale crushed his chances altogether.

Rider: Jorge Lorenzo
Rating: C+
Rundown: It was definitely a slow start to the season for Jorge Lorenzo, who was in his first year with the Ducati Team. It’s evident he struggled to come to terms with the new machine, however as the year went on, he started to record some strong results, put in some solid performances and lodge a couple of podiums.

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Rider: Valentino Rossi
Rating: B
Rundown: Heroic is the only word to describe Valentino Rossi’s (Movistar Yamaha) 2017 campaign, as a severe leg injury ruled him out of his home grand prix at Misano. He returned a number of weeks later and gritted his way through the following rounds, as his determination and spirit credited him fifth overall.

Rider: Johann Zarco
Rating: B+
Rundown: In his rookie season, Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech3) managed to secure three podiums along with a number of highly impressive outings, rewarding him with sixth in the standings, while also being the first independent rider inside the top 10. He came narrowly close to scoring his maiden victory at Valencia, falling just a mere 0.337s shy.

Rider: Jack Miller
Rating: B-
Rundown: Australian Jack Miller (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) experienced a solid start to the year with multiple top 10s, although he also endured a selection of rounds with mixed outings. Suffering a broken leg, Miller returned just three weeks later, where he led the opening laps of the Australian grand prix to finish seventh, which he matched last weekend to be credited 11th in the standings, two points shy of the top 10.

Rider: Maverick Viñales
Rating: B-
Rundown: In his first year with Movistar Yamaha, Maverick Viñales solidified himself as title contender in the opening rounds, taking two-consecutive victories at rounds one and two. He later experienced his fair share of strong and lacklustre performances, ultimately seeing him end up third in the championship standings.