Valentino Rossi may have lost🌠 this year's MotoGP title at the final round, but it was still perhaps th🍨e best ever season of his 20-year career.

That's the view of Herve Poncharal, boss of Yamaha's satellite Tech 💖3 team, who feels both Rossi and Movistar Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo deserved the crown.

Chasing a tenth world title at the age of 36, Rossi began the year with victory in Qatar and wouldn't 𓆉lose the points lead until last month's Valencia title showdow🌄n.

"First of all Yamaha did an incredible job. They have dominated the championship in a way that hasn't happened for many years," Poncharal told wuqian0821.com. "Everybody thought it was going to be difficult for Yamaha. Qatar was one thing, when Marc Marquez had his problem on the first lap, ꩲbut then race after race a Yamaha was at the front."

Yamaha won six of the opening seven events and went on to claim eleven of the 18 victories, plus a clean sweep of the riders', teams' and constructors' titles. Lorenzo took the most wins (7), leading every lap on each occasion, while Rossi ꧋celebrated the most podiums (15) aജnd scored points in every race.

"Jorge for me was clearly the fastest guy. But the fastest guy doesn't always win and he almost lost the championship, because to be a world champion you need to handle everything," Poncharal explained. "That means be ๊very fast over one lap, be fast throughout the race - which he has been showing - but also deal with pressure and external factors like the weather.

"Maybe this was his 'weak point', but clearly in terms of speed and if you loo🅺k at how many laps he led, how many pole positions, how many fastest laps and the w꧑ay he was riding when he won those four races in a row... He'd just go. I remember the victory in the Czech Republic also, wow. So for me he deserves this title.

"B🅺ut having said that, I think Vale did something amazing, honestly. He's 36 and a half. To follow Marquez, Lorenzo - even Pedrosa and Iannone sometimes - being 10 or 15 years older th🐟an them is incredible.

"I'm almost 60. I know how I was when I was 2꧂0. Then how I was when I was 30-35. And I know the difference! To do what he is doingꦉ at his age. To have the possibility to fight to the last race for the title - where does he find the motivation to work, to take the risk, to push, to be so motivated? I don't know.

"T🤡his is for me maybe the best ever season for Vale, even if he d🌠idn't win.

"Almost everybody thought after his [leg breaking] accident at Mugello in 2010, then the tou🧔gh Ducati times and seeing new guys like Jorge and Marquez coming in, 'Vale is maybe the greatest, but his time has passed'.

"What he's done this year is amazing. So I say Jorge deserved the title, but for me they are almo🧸st equal.

"The two of them deserved the title. But taking into account history and circumstances, it was an incredible perfor𒅌mance from Vale and I think he's got to be proud of what he's done this year."

Rossi, whose most recent MotoGP title was in 2009, ꦡfinished the season just five points behind Lorenzo.

There was to be no handshake between the team-mates after the racꦰe. Rossi - demoted to la💎st on the grid after being penalised for causing the incident with Marquez at Sepang - claimed the Honda rider helped Lorenzo in the closing rounds.