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Top Stories of 2017, #11: Dovizioso falls short in MotoGP showdown

At number 11 in our countdown of the year's biggest stories in racing is the story of how MotoGP underdog Andrea Dovizioso took the fight to Marc Marquez all the way down to the final race of the year in Valencia.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team, Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team, Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team

Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Top 20 Stories of 2017

Check out Motorsport.com's countdown of the biggest stories in racing this year.

Marc Marquez may have won the 2017 MotoGP title, becoming the sport's youngest four-time champion, but the year was really the story of how Andrea Dovizioso transformed from outside bet into a true championship contender at such a late stage in his career.

The Italian had won just two races before the start of the year, having taken his first victory as a Ducati rider a full seven years on from his maiden triumph at Donington Park with Honda.

He began the season as a 16/1 outsider, and there was little evidence in the first five rounds - three of which were won by pre-season testing dominator Maverick Vinales - to suggest that this would be the year of the big breakthrough.

After May's Le Mans race, Vinales was 17 points clear at the top of the table, while Dovizioso was sixth, 31 behind.

Then came Mugello - incidentally the first race with a revised specification of front tyre that the riders had collectively voted to introduce - where Dovizioso edged out Vinales to score his first win of the year and ignite a title charge that wouldn't finally peter out until the very last race of the season.

At first Dovizioso was cautious about his chances, but it was clear his form was no flash in the pan when he became Ducati's first back-to-back race winner since Casey Stoner a week later in Barcelona.

In less than a month, the title picture had changed dramatically: Dovizioso was now just seven points behind Vinales and with the momentum firmly behind him. But after a slow start to the year, Marquez was about to hit his stride.

So poor had the start to the Spaniard's been that he even started to lose hair - but trialling a less stiff chassis in post-Barcelona testing signalled the start of his recovery.

Marquez went into the summer break having won at the Sachsenring, and then dominated the next round in Brno with one of his trademark virtuoso flag-to-flag displays.

Still, Dovizioso was determined to not let Marquez have things all his own way, and his thrilling defeat of the Honda rider at the Red Bull Ring extinguished any remaining doubts that the Italian would be a major threat.

Fans were treated to a repeat instalment of their duel in Japan, by which point it was clear that it was a two-horse race between Marquez and Dovizioso as Yamaha pair Vinales and Valentino Rossi gradually faded from view.

That win in Motegi, another masterful display by Dovizioso the tactician, gave him a real chance of overhauling Marquez. But a disappointing run to 11th in Phillip Island the following week dealt a hefty blow to his aspirations, and after his sixth win of the year in Sepang he was still 21 points adrift.

Valencia was never likely to favour Dovizioso or Ducati, and the points gap meant the 31-year-old had to win and hope Marquez could do no better than 11th.

It was no good. Marquez had the clear edge on pace, taking pole position, while Dovizioso was ninth. And while the Ducati was better in race trim that it was over a lap, it wasn't quick enough to win.

Marquez left the door slightly ajar when he ran into the gravel while being pursued by Johann Zarco, only his left elbow and knee saving him from a 28th crash of the season. But, the following lap, Dovizioso crashed out, and that was the end.

Still, when people look back upon the 2017 season, they will remember not the fact that Dovizioso came up short, but the fact he spearheaded a Ducati renaissance few thought was likely.

Click here to see the list of top 20 stories so far.

Podium: race winner Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team
Podium: race winner Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

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