Poll result: You pick your star of 2004.
You might recall that we asked you recently 'Who has been the most outstanding motorsport performer this season?'
Well you voted in your thousands, and the man who came out on top was MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi. Seemingly against the odds, the popular Italian powered his way to another title aboard the Yamaha - nine more wins cementing his place as one of [if not the] greatest motorbike riders of all time.
You might recall that we asked you recently 'Who has been the most outstanding motorsport performer this season?'
Well you voted in your thousands, and the man who came out on top was MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi. Seemingly against the odds, the popular Italian powered his way to another title aboard the Yamaha - nine more wins cementing his place as one of [if not the] greatest motorbike riders of all time.
In fact two wheeled stars dominated the podium, with newly crowned World Superbike champion James Toseland taking second spot ahead of British Superbike champion John Reynolds.
But there was a surprise behind, as James Thompson pipped Michael Schumacher to fourth place. Driving the much less exotic Vauxhall Astra Coupe to Schumacher's Ferrari, Thompson was involved in one of the most exciting title battles in any form of motorsport in 2004, eventually pipping teammate Yvan Muller to the title by just one point after a dramatic final round of the year at Donington Park.
For Schumacher, 2004 was business as usual, but in even more dominant fashion - the Ferrari star securing his seventh world title thanks to 13 victories throughout the season.
WRC champion Sebastien Loeb finished in sixth place ahead of Sebastien Bourdais and Andy Priaulx, with Stevie Hodgson and Tony Kanaan rounding out the top ten.
Full Crash.net poll results:
1. Valentino Rossi Moto GP8,172
2. James Toseland WSBK4,262
3. John Reynolds BSB3,066
4. James Thompson BTCC2,903
5. Michael Schumacher F12,857
6. Sebastien Loeb WRC173
7. Sebastien Bourdais Champ Car152
8. Andy Priaulx ETCC117
9. Stevie Hodgson Days of Thunder104
10. Tony Kanaan IRL69
11.Kurt Busch NASCAR66
12. Vitantonio Liuzzi FIA F300050
13. Mattias Ekstr?m DTM46
14. JJ Lehto ALMS31