4. Alex Rins (Moto3)
Although he kicked off the weekend third in the championship, Alex Rins was many people’s favourite to win it all in Valencia and oh how close he came. The seventeen year old was the form man before crashing in Motegi and made the ideal start to the title decider by grabbing pole position from under the noses of his two big rivals, Luis Salom and Maverick Vinales.
The race itself was always going to follow a particular pattern, as the three title contenders fought for the lead throughout joined by one or two uninvited guests. Salom was the first protagonist to fall on lap 15 and when Jack Miller did likewise soon after, just Vinales, Rins and Jonas Folger remained at the front.
With Folger choosing to stay well out of the title fight, Rins and Vinales were free to race each other and produced a thrilling final lap between them. Alex made his bid for glory at the first corner by slipping up the inside at turn one but Maverick fought back at the next corner, giving Rins just one more overtaking opportunity. This came at the last turn and Alex threw everything at his compatriot but his desperate move didn’t quite pay off and Vinales, as well as Folger, would outdrag him to the line.
The championship may have eluded him but Rins served notice of his potential for the future. With Vinales and Salom graduating to Moto2 in 2014, it will surely take a special performance to deny Rins the title that agonisingly passed him by on Sunday.
