MotoGP world champion Joan Mir wins Autosport's Rider of the Year Award
MotoGP world champion Joan Mir is the winner of Autosport's 2020 Rider of the Year Award
Autosport Awards
The Autosport Awards are a series of awards presented by motor racing magazine Autosport to drivers that have achieved significant milestones each season. Some of the presentations are selected by the general public via a reader's poll.
In an incredibly hard-fought and unpredictable season during which nine riders took victories, Mir's consistency lifted him above the opposition.
He took his first win in November's European Grand Prix at Valencia and clinched the crown with a round to spare, in just his second MotoGP campaign. The Spaniard is also the first Suzuki rider to lift motorcycle racing's top crown since 2000.
PLUS: How Mir became Suzuki's humble MotoGP hero
Autosport readers have voted Mir the best rider of the season, ahead of fellow MotoGP title contenders Franco Morbidelli and Alex Rins, and World Superbike dominator Jonathan Rea.
"It feels great, thank you to all the people that voted for me," said the 23-year-old.
"I think we were the surprise of the year. We didn't have the fastest bike, but we got an opportunity and we took it.
"Since my first podium in Austria [in August] I was able to be on the podium on every track, in different circumstances, and this was the key. In Aragon [in October] I thought maybe we can get this."
Autosport's Rider of the Year Award, which has introduced in 2016, is open to riders competing in any of MotoGP's three racing categories or equivalent.
Mir is the first person other than Marc Marquez, who sat out 2020 following a crash in the opening event, to take the accolade.
The 2020 edition of the Autosport Awards is taking place online, with increased digital coverage, and continues the tradition of highlighting the best of the motorsport season.
Other categories include International Racing Driver of the Year presented by Pirelli, Racing Car of the Year, International Rally Driver of the Year, Rally Car of the Year, British Competition Driver of the Year, Richard Mille Rookie of the Year, National Driver of the Year, Moment of the Year presented by Marelli, and the Pioneering and Innovation Award presented by Mahindra.
The Esports Driver of the Year Award presented by Motorsport Games has also been introduced this year.
To find out which other winners Autosport readers have voted for, go to
autosport.com/awards
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