4 great riders who never won the MotoGP World Championship

#3 Loris Capirossi

Loris Capirossi finished third in the 2006 MotoGP World Championship

After a fantastic 125cc debut in 1990 that saw Loris Capirossi claim the championship gold, the Italian regained it the following year.

Between 1992 and 2001, Capirossi's career oscillated between the 250cc and the 500cc class, with him winning the 250cc championship in the year 1998. A third-place finish in the 2001 500cc championship laid down a perfect platform for the MotoGP class that began the following year.

The Italian rider couldn't quite replicate the form that he had shown in the lower divisions and could never manage to put himself in a tough fight for the championship. A third-place finish in the 2006 MotoGP Championships with 229 points, just 23 points behind the champion Nicky Hayden, was his best finish in the premier class. The rest of his MotoGP years saw him battle for only a place in the midfield.

With a career that lasted over two decades, Loris Capirossi secured 99 podiums, and 29 race wins from 328 starts. Interestingly, he is the first Grand Prix rider to start in more than 300 races.