How about that special Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations where Germany got their first victory and the European riders dominated the moto wins.

In my opinion Antonio Cairoli deserves to be called the Rider of the Year due to his incredible Stefan Everts, Ricky Carmichael type charge to his sixth FIM World Motocross Championship, then went about showing the best AMA and FIM riders how Motocross should be ridden in sand.

He is the best of 2012 and nobody can deny that. Here are our Motocross Illustrated Award Winners

1. Motocross Illustrated Rider of the Year: Antonio Cairoli. Unbeatable after his Swedish disaster

2. GP rider of the Year: Jeffrey Herlings. How good can this kid get? Already the fastest sand rider in the history of the sport and he might just be able to go undefeated in 2013.

3. AMA rider of the Year: Blake Baggett. Won a very tough 250cc class and performanced well in Lommel. Also a good attitude when beaten in Lommel.

4. Grand Prix of the Year: Great Britain. Possibly the most important step in the sports recent history. Hundreds of riders, thousands of fans and a decision that might bring more and more people to the sport.

5. Team of the Year: Red Bull KTM. Is there any question. KTM have dominated in nearly every aspect of the sport. Only the AMA 250cc MX championship eluded them. They are also in control of many of the National Championship in Europe.

6. Comeback of the Year: Max Nagl. What a rollercoaster year, injury, returning with great results, losing his KTM rider, picking up a ride with the Factory Honda team and winning the MXoN.

7. Most Exciting moment of 2012: Searle versus Herlings at Matterley Basin. One of the best performances I have ever seen in my 20 years in Europe. Searle was on it and Herlings didn't give up.

8. Best crowd of 2012: MXoN. Not as big as some of the MXoN of the past, but really a great feeling throughout the crowd and many happy smiling faces.

9. Paddock of the Year: Valkenswaard. Doesn't get the respect it deserves. Always marvel at the set-up in Valkenswaard and the typical Dutch professionalism.

10. Circuit of the Year: Matterley Basin. Johnny Douglas Hamilton and Steve Dixon are a great team and they also had a lot of help from people who care about our sport. Viewing is just perfect.

11. Journalist of the Year: Adam Wheeler. Always professional and works for not only many of the factory teams, helps Paul Malin with commentary and doing a great job, but also does work for RacerX in America and Cycle News in America. He's getting the word out on our sport.

12. Website of the Year: MXLarge. Remains the most consistent MX website in the sport. Great images from Ray Archer and a regular line of interviews from the best riders in the World. Industry support is bigger than any other website in Europe.

13. Motocross magazine of the Year: Moto magazine. Continues to produce issue after issue of really good stuff. Design, imagination and great images, the stories are also pretty cool. Adam Duckworth, Ray Chuss, Ben Johnson and the crew really deserve a medal for their work ethic.

14. E-magazine of the Year: Inside MXGP/Stanley Leroux. Stanley is a true artist and his work never gets boring and is always cool. From working on the MXlarge website, to his own projects and now working for Youthstream to help design their promotional future, he is the best at what he does.

15. Most awaited moment of the GP season: The return of Roczen in Germany. He didn't win, but he got his mojo back. A week later in Lommel he was again the man in MX2.

16. Most disappointing thing of 2012: Riders strike in Mexico. I didn't go, but it seemed unorganized and thoughtless.

17. FIM event of the Year: Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations. Is there any event like this one? Bringing the World together and showing the quality of the AMA and GP riders.

To read the full feature click on the e-magazine below or click here http://issuu.com/redelevencreative/docs/motocross_illustrated_21