Crash.net's Top 100 Drivers and Riders of 2019: 60-41

Crash.net is unveiling its top 100 drivers and riders from across the motorsport world from 2019 with a countdown on each day until New Year’s Eve! Check back tomorrow for the top 40-21 entries, and let us know in the comments if we’ve made the right choices.

60. Kevin Harvick - 3rd in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Kevin Harvick’s status as one of NASCAR’s most consistent and regular front-runners was furthered in 2019 as he once again made the final title showdown at Homestead - only to once again fall short of a second championship, finishing third (for the third year running). Harvick’s season took a little longer to come alive than 2018, waiting until New Hampshire for his first victory before winning the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis. For the fourth time in five years, he featured in the final title shootout, losing out to Kyle Busch.

59. Dean Harrison - 1x Isle of Man TT win, 3x Isle of Man TT podiums, 1x North West 200 podium

Another strong season on the roads for Dean Harrison culminated in victory in the most important race: the Isle of Man Senior TT. Often chasing Peter Hickman at the iconic event with three podiums earlier in the week, Harrison held his nerve when his rival hit mechanical trouble to scoop the biggest prize. The Silicone Engineering Kawasaki rider also claimed a podium in the opening Supersport race at the North West 200. Injury suffered during the classic TT meant a low-key end to the year.

58. Aron Canet - 2nd in Moto3

Looking for a fresh start in Moto3, Aron Canet’s split from Estrella Galicia 0,0 to join the all-new Max Biaggi Racing Team almost resulted in the Spaniard clinching the world title. Canet spent majority of the season trading wins with Lorenzo Dalla Porta in the main championship fight but a nightmare trio of races in Thailand, Japan and Australia - where he was caught up in multiple-rider clashes - put a premature end to his title hopes. Canet’s three wins and four further podiums still ensured he kept hold of the runner-up spot overall.

57. Lucas di Grassi – 3rd in 2018/19 Formula E season

Victories in Mexico and Berlin helped Lucas di Grassi claim third place in the 2018/19 Formula E season as the Brazilian continued to spearhead Audi’s charge in the all-electric series. di Grassi took victory in Mexico in dramatic circumstances after pulling off a last-gasp overtake on Mahindra’s Pascal Wehrlein metres from the line to score his first win of the campaign. Once again, di Grassi was a frontrunner throughout the season but non scores in Sanya - after being stripped of pole due to a technical infringement – Sanya (taken out by Robin Frijns) and Monaco (collision) hurt his hopes of winning a second Formula E title.

56. Colin Turkington - 1st in British Touring Car Championship

Colin Turkington successfully defended his 2018 BTCC crown in dramatic circumstances during an unforgettable finale at Brands Hatch to become a four-time champion, equalling the record held by Andy Rouse. Turkington did not win the most races - amassing five in total across the 2019 campaign - but his remarkable consistency in BMW’s strong 330i M Sport package was key to him prevailing over teammate Andrew Jordan and Honda’s Dan Cammish. Turkington ultimately pipped the pair to the title by just two points, having recovered from the back of the grid to sixth in the season finale in Kent. The Northern Irishman only failed to score points on three occasions throughout the year, demonstrating another sublime season from the driver who continues to set the standard in BTCC.

55. Cal Crutchlow - 9th in MotoGP

Cal Crutchlow’s stunning comeback from a career-threatening ankle injury made 2019 one to remember for the British rider, encapsulated with a podium on his comeback in Qatar at the opening round. With the tough-handling Honda to manage, the season didn’t turn out how he would have hoped following his impressive start but further rostrums in Germany and Australia - the latter where he suffered the injury 12 months previous - saw Crutchlow remain the only Honda rider not called Marquez to spray champagne this year.

54. Felix Rosenqvist - 6th overall in IndyCar, Rookie of the Year

Felix Rosenqvist left Formula E to make the switch to America and get his first taste of IndyCar on a full-time basis, with his transition to the series proving seamless as he immediately fitted in as a competitive member of the field. Rosenqvist claimed the ‘Rookie of the Year’ tag by securing an impressive sixth in the championship standings with six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. Highlights occurred with two best results were taken with second place at Mid-Ohio and Portland, while the speedy Swede also claimed a maiden IndyCar pole position at the Indianapolis Road Course in May. 

53. Michael Christensen - 1st in WEC GTE-Pro 2018/19, Spa 24 winner

Michael Christensen and Kevin Estre may have laid the groundwork for their GTE-Pro WEC title win through 2018, but they got the job done in 2019 before plotting another championship charge. The #92 Porsche duo scored Sebring pole and a podium at Spa before clinching the title with P5 at Le Mans. Not content with his first WEC crown, Christensen took second at Silverstone and Fuji before winning in Shanghai to sit P2 in the standings heading into the winter. Add in victory at the Spa 24, and you can see why the Dane has been one of sports car racing’s top performers this year.

52. Kevin Estre - 1st in WEC GTE-Pro 2018/19, Spa 24 winner

Kevin Estre’s long, widing career in Porsche colours finally bore fruit in 2019 courtesy of a maiden WEC title victory alongside Michael Christensen in the #92 car. While they would only win one race in the calendar year, a string of podiums not only helped capture the GTE-Pro title but also put them in contention for the ‘19/20 championship. Victory in the Spa 24 alongside Christensen and Richard Lietz added to Estre’s trophy cabinet.

51. Sergio Perez – 10th in Formula 1

Sergio Perez once again emerged as one of the most consistent midfield drivers as he rounded out the top 10 in the championship standings with another impressive campaign. No driver in the midfield scored more points than Perez in the second half of the season, with the Mexican racking up 39 in the final nine rounds to help Racing Point seal seventh spot in the constructors’ championship. Perez had the measure of teammate Lance Stroll in both qualifying and the races, with the Canadian only managing 21 points. Standout drives came from Perez in China, Azerbaijan, Belgium and Abu Dhabi.

50. Valentino Rossi - 7th in MotoGP

By his own incredibly high standards, 2019 fell well short of the mark for the nine-time world champion in what became his worst MotoGP campaign since his first year at Ducati back in 2011. A pair of podiums early in the season in Argentina and the United States gave early promise which faded away and after a hat-trick of DNFs between Mugello and Assen his title hopes were over by round eight. Committed to fighting on, Rossi still scored consistent points but failed to find the consistent and late race performance to match his rivals. The best efforts of four P4s in Austria, Great Britain, San Marino and Malaysia were the closest he managed to return to the rostrum.

49. Loris Baz - 10th in World Superbikes

After missing five out of 13 rounds, as Ten Kate Racing didn’t join the season due to late preparations running Yamaha machinery after its split from Honda, for Loris Baz to still finish the year inside the top 10 of the riders’ championship is nothing short of remarkable. On multiple occasions the French rider was either unlucky or just missing a vital edge to reach the podium in 2019 as he notched up three fourth place finishes and and two fifth place results. With a full 2020 World Superbike campaign to look forward to with Ten Kate Racing Yamaha, Baz will be setting his sights much higher.

48. Fabio Di Giannantonio - 9th in Moto2

While ninth place in Moto2’s overall riders’ standings doesn’t sound like a feat worthy of his place in the top 100 list, Fabio Di Giannantonio’s charge to become top rookie in the intermediate class equipped with his Speed Up became an eye-catching feat against his rivals. A pair of second places at Brno and Misano, with pole position at the latter included, were the clear highlights for the Italian rider but as a consistent points scorer in 2019 he will be one to watch and could even join the 2020 title fight.

47. Pol Espargaro - 11th in MotoGP

Leading the KTM charge, Pol Espargaro’s perfect century of points made it the Austrian manufacturer’s best season to date in the premier class as he scored points in all but two races in 2019 (one he missed through injury). Into his third season as a KTM factory rider, Espargaro is making clear gains with the team’s development of the RC16 to become a consistent Q2 contender in qualifying and top 10 rider in the races.

46. Pierre Gasly – 7th in Formula 1

2019 proved to be something of a rollercoaster ride for Pierre Gasly, who started off the season at Red Bull and ended the year back at Toro Rosso. After struggling to adapt to life at the senior team and underperforming in comparison to star teammate Max Verstappen, Gasly found himself demoted to Toro Rosso and replaced by Alexander Albon. The Frenchman excelled upon his return to Toro Rosso and comfortably outperformed teammate Daniil Kvyat in the second half of the season as he earned some form of redemption and recovered his confidence. Gasly scored points in Belgium, Singapore, Japan and Mexico before the standout result of his season came with a shock maiden podium in Brazil, as he pipped Lewis Hamilton to second place behind Verstappen.

45. Danilo Petrucci - 6th in MotoGP

If Danilo Petrucci’s season had ended at the summer break he’d be breaking into the top 10 of this list thanks to his emotional maiden MotoGP win in Italy coupled with a pair of podiums in France and Barcelona. But his form and confidence dropped away at an alarming rate over the second half of the season with seventh place at Silverstone his best showing. As a result, Petrucci slipped from a comfortable top three position to sixth place in the final riders’ world championship and while it was still his best MotoGP campaign to date a repeat of it in 2020 won’t be enough to keep hold of his factory Ducati spot.

44. Marcos Ramirez - 3rd in Moto3

A rank outside at the start of 2019, Marcos Ramirez exceeded almost all expectations with third place in the Moto3 standings. With Lorenzo Dalla Porta storming to the world title as his Leopard Racing teammate, Ramirez impressed with his own two wins, two second places and two pole positions but he lacked the consistency to match the Italian rider.

43. Daniel Ricciardo – 9th in Formula 1

Following his big-money switch from Red Bull, life in F1’s midfield with Renault did not all go to plan for Daniel Ricciardo. The ever-smiling Australian had his patience tested at times but recovered from a slow start to the year - hampered by some early reliability niggles and a lack of performance – to churn in some solid results as the season progressed. Inconsistency proved to be Renault’s downfall as it lost out to McLaren in the midfield fight but Ricciardo led home a 4-5 finish in Italy, which turned out to be the highlight of the season. He had the edge over teammate Nico Hulkenberg throughout the majority of the campaign and outscored the German by 17 points on his way to sealing a top-10 finish in the championship.

42. Scott Dixon – 4th in IndyCar

Five-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon failed to add more titles to his stellar career in 2019 but turned in another brilliant season nonetheless with a strong run to fourth place in the championship. The 39-year-old was ever consistent and stood on the podium 10 times across the 17-round season, claiming two victories victories in Detroit and Mid-Ohio, defying the odds in the latter to resist Chip Ganassi teammate Felix Rosenqvist for the win. Rare driver errors in Detroit and Texas proved costly, while car failures at Gateway and Portland ultimately accelerated Dixon’s latest unsuccessful title defence bid.

41. Augusto Fernandez - 5th in Moto2

A slight journeyman in Moto2 for the previous two seasons - joining both campaigns midway through - a full year for 2019 with Flexbox HP40 Pons Racing gave Fernandez the ideal opportunity to demonstrate his credentials on the world stage. But his year was halted prematurely by a double wrist fracture suffered at the second round in Argentina which needed surgery. After missing two rounds, Fernandez bounced back impressively at a maiden Moto2 podium on his comeback at Jerez before repeating the feat at Le Mans two weeks later. Fernandez hit his stride in the summer rounds with wins at Assen, Silverstone and Misano which propelled him to a top five finish overall.