Motor sport review 2011

Some motor sport years are looked back on for all the wrong reasons, and 2011 will unfortunately become one of those seasons with a black mark next to it in the memory.

Although there was plenty of great racing to be seen throughout the year, the deaths of Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli within one week in October rocked a sport that is not used to such tragedies in the modern era of safety.

Wheldon's death came less than five months after possibly his finest hour, when the British driver took his second victory in the Indianapolis 500 in one of the most dramatic finishes the Brickyard has ever seen.

Another Brit, Dario Franchitti, won the IndyCar Series title for a third year in a row - and fourth in total - seeing off the challenge of Penske driver Will Power over the final few races of the season.

The other major American racing series finally saw a changing of the guard as Tony Stewart claimed his third NASCAR Sprint Cup title after a pulsating finale at Homestead, ending Jimmie Johnson's five-year period of dominance in the process.

There was to be no change to the status quo in the World Rally Championship, as Sebastien Loeb claimed a remarkable eighth consecutive title in the series. After again being unable to beat him, nearest challenger Mikko Hirvonen will be joining the Frenchman at Citroen next year.

A fearsome new force could be emerging in MotoGP as Casey Stoner cruised to championship glory during his first year with Repsol Honda, leaving Jorge Lorenzo, Valentino Rossi and the rest floundering his wake.

Elsewhere, Audi took victory at Le Mans for a fifth time in six years despite two of their cars crashing out in spectacular fashion, with their third entry holding off the might of Peugeot in one of the race's closest ever finishes.

Yvan Muller edged out Robert Huff to win the World Touring Car Championship, Matt Neal was king of the BTCC, while Carlos Checa and Tommy Hill took the World and British Superbike Championships respectively.

Driver/rider of the year - Casey Stoner

The Australian enjoyed a dream debut season with Repsol Honda, finishing every race he completed in the top three and taking 10 victories in the process of winning the MotoGP title by 90 points.

Many wondered how Stoner would fare against a strong and established Honda rider like Dani Pedrosa, but in the end it was the new boy who stamped his authority on the team and is set to be their lead rider for many years to come.

Series of the year - British Superbike Championship

The most thrilling title fight of the year played out in British Superbikes, with the destination of the crown being uncertain until the very end.

A great, close year of racing reached its conclusion at Brands Hatch when Tommy Hill and John Hopkins staged an incredible last-lap fight for the title, passing each other five times before the former took the championship at the flag by a mere six thousandths of a second.

Race of the year - Le Mans 24 Hours

Endurance races are all too often decided when there are several hours still to run, with the only interest being if the leading car can make it to the finish. But this year at Le Mans saw a flat-out, closely-fought fight to the end.

Audi lost two of their cars when both Allan McNish and Mike Rockenfeller crashed out in spectacular fashion - each somehow emerging unhurt from completely totalled race cars. The third entry of Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer then stepped up to the plate - being forced to race all the way to the flag to hold off the top Peugeot by 13.8 seconds, the fourth closest finish in history.

Controversy of the year - Busch brothers

NASCAR's Kyle and Kurt Busch have never been far from controversy, but the pair managed to outdo themselves towards the end of the 2011 season. First, Kyle was eliminated from Sprint Cup title contention after deliberately turning Ron Hornaday into the wall at high-speed during a Camping World Series Truck race in Texas, leading to a suspension for the rest of the weekend.

Then at the final race of the season at Homestead, Kurt directed a foul-mouthed tirade at pit reporter Dr Jerry Punch and was also captured delivering a salute of the one-fingered variety that appeared to be in the director of a vehicle carrying Michelle Obama. He parted company with his team Penske shortly afterwards.

Moment of the year - Wheldon's Indy 500 win

There have been some dramatic finishes at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway over the years, but this year's incredible turn of events on the final lap may have eclipsed them all. An unlikely win for rookie JR Hildebrand would have been a big enough story, but the way he threw away a seemingly certain victory made it even more remarkable.

Coming out of the very last corner, Hildebrand unbelievably veered into the wall after going off-line to pass a backmarker. For a moment it looked like he may be able to glide his battered car over the line but it soon became apparent that Wheldon had nipped past him before the chequered flag to give the Englishman, who was without a drive for most of the year, an emotional win.

Low point - Double tragedy

At a time when titles were being decided across the motor sport world, all the on-track interest took a back seat and the sport was united in grief when Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli both lost their lives in the space of seven days in October.

Wheldon died in a fiery crash at the final race of the IndyCar Series in Las Vegas, while Simoncelli succumbed to injuries sustained when he slid into the path of oncoming bikes in Malaysia. The fatal impacts that both men took highlighted the inherent dangers that open cockpit and motorcycle racing respectively can never fully eliminate.