It’s kinda obvious who was the best racer this side of the Atlantic in 2015. Romain Febvre almost half of the Grands Prix. Not bad for a rookie. We didn’t just want to go on stats and numbers for our judgement because world championship motocross can be such a bewildering mix of narrative and circumstances: some obvious on the track, others known only behind the scenes. Instead this ranking is based more on impact, performance and achievement. Leaving MX2 aside for the moment here are the main men from the blue ribbon division.

1. Romain Febvre, World Champion, eight Grand Prix victories, fifteen moto wins, thirteen consecutive podiums

Interviewing Romain Febvre in February at the Yamaha Motor Europe teams presentation in the spacious confines of the MotoGP workshop close to Monza the recently turned 23 year old was a little wide-eyed. He was the new boy in blue, the perceived sidekick to 2014 runner-up Jeremy Van Horebeek and seemingly content with his billing as the MXGP/450 rookie within the factory team. Two injuries in the winter meant that Romain was keeping his feet on the ground. Actually, this became a common trait all the way through a trail-blazing season in which he visibly grew in stature and confidence. “It is a new class, new team, new bike for me so I cannot say whether I’ll be top ten or top five or top twenty,” he said that morning in Italy. “I don’t know. And it is a big challenge for me but I know how much everybody has been working for 2015 so I hope for the best.”

‘Hoping for the best’ obviously worked and this is what Yamaha and Grand Prix fans were provided by the Frenchman, now a resident in Lommel for several years. Only three terms in MX2 before he had to move into the premier class meant that Febvre was actually one of the least experienced in the category but he was also one of most fearless. His mental strength and ability to react and block out the expectation and attention around him was a powerful tool and a contrast to his teammate. Also shining through was his happiness with the works YZ450FM and he never stopped testing with the Italians. Some vital gains made before the Grand Prix of Sweden for round eleven meant that Febvre was consistently one of the better starters in the group. His rise was chartable. In a matter of weeks he gleaned a first podium in Spain, moto win the next round at Matterley and then overall at his home Grand Prix in France – of all places – that HRC’s Jean-Michel Bayle ranks as one of the turning points in the season with Febvre running clear, Paulin DNF-ing and Desalle picking up an injury that would dump his 2015 altogether. ‘461’ had already hinted at his contentment with the Yamaha pre-season. His words were not hollow: “the manoeuvrability of the bike is so good. I find it easy to ride and that rubs off on other things.”

In our opinion he saved some of the best until last. Mexico was pure supremacy in action (his fourth 1-1 of the year) and the pass around the outside of Cooper Webb down Mount Saint Helen in California summed up the confidence and balls of MXGP’s new humble powerhouse.

2…Read the rest of the ranking in the latest issue of OTOR HERE