We polled our global team of writers to assemble a list of six nominations for each category, with the entry receiving the most nominations being chosen as the winner. Read on to see who we chose...

Title fight of the year

(2015 winner - MotoGP)

Formula 1 - Given the performance advantage of Mercedes compared to the rest of the field, the battle we had between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg - admittedly helped by a dash of unreliability in the former's side of the garage - was about as good as could have been hoped for. Hamilton's strategy in the closing laps of the Abu Dhabi finale helped to ratchet up the tension beautifully, too.

GP2 - An exciting new name coming in and immediately challenging the (sort of) established favourite is always intriguing, and with Prema's advantage, it soon became clear the biggest threat to Pierre Gasly's title would come from within the team. A mightily impressive Antonio Giovinazzi forced Gasly into bringing his A-game for the Abu Dhabi decider, and the Frenchman didn't give the Italian a chance in the end.

Formula E - Much like season one, the second edition of the all-electric series was decided at Battersea Park. But, unlike last year, the battle reached its peak on the opening lap as Lucas di Grassi misjudged his braking and ploughed into Sebastien Buemi - leading to a game of fastest lap cat-and-mouse that ultimately swayed it in favour of the Swiss driver.

NASCAR Cup – Whatever one feels about the Chase for the Championship contrivance, this year it produced an almost ideal 'final four': All three manufacturers were represented and the drivers consisted of two popular nearly-men from seasons past, the defending champion and a six-time champion legend - who ultimately reached seventh heaven.

DTM - Marco Wittmann arrived at the final round of the season at Hockenheim with a relatively healthy points advantage, but Edoardo Mortara ensured it was a curtain-closer to savour with his performance in the second race, as the Italian charged through from the third row to win race two and ensure Wittmann couldn't breathe too easily before scooping his second title.

BTCC - Reverse grids and success ballast tend to keep things tight in the annual fight for BTCC title honours, but this year's battle between Gordon Shedden and Sam Tordoff went right to the wire. Whichever of the pair finished ahead in the third and final Brands Hatch race would be crowned, and in the end it was Shedden who got the job done as he slipped by his rival at Clearways.

Winner: Formula 1

Overtake of the year

(2015 winner - Max Verstappen)

Lucas di Grassi, 6 Hours of Spa (WEC) - There is brave, then there is di Grassi at Blanchimont brave! Fighting with Sebastien Buemi's Toyota for second position in the opening hour of last May's 6 Hours of Spa, the Brazilian got a run on his Swiss nemesis coming out of the Paul Frere right-hander and then jinked to the inside, using the grass to make his way through. Even with two wheels off the track at approximately 175mph, the Audi driver never even hinted at lifting. Commitment fulfilled.

Will Power, Detroit Race 2 (IndyCar) – There's something about Will Power and 90-degree corners. He seems impossible to block. Teammate Montoya tried this year at Detroit, and Power still found a gap down the inside. But Power's pass on Simon Pagenaud was a peach: Simon went defensive, Will went to the outside, braked later, and simply drove around him and won. Pagenaud got his revenge at Mid-Ohio though.

Daniel Ricciardo, Italian GP (F1) - It's rare to see a good-old-fashioned outbraking manoeuvre in F1 these days, and even if Ricciardo did have the luxury of DRS, the Australian came from an awful long way back when he went for the pass at Rettifilo - forcing Valtteri Bottas up on to the kerb and sweeping around the outside of the Finn to grab fifth place.

Kevin Eriksson, Estering (World RX) - You may not be familiar with the name, but a quick glance at the YouTube footage of this outrageous round-the-outside-of-three-cars drift pass at the very first corner of the Estering final tells you everything you need to know. A superb piece of car control, and one that deservedly led to Eriksson's first win in the World Rallycross championship.

Scott McLaughlin, Gold Coast 600 (Supercars) - Was it a save? Was it a pass? It was probably a little of both. Just eight laps before the end of Sunday's leg of the Gold Coast 600 a rapid McLaughlin made a huge lunge at Turn 11 on Winterbottom, which resulted in a locked right-front and barely rotating rears. First McLaughlin managed to somehow keep it off the left-hand side wall, before slotting back in in front of Winterbottom – and making the pass stick.

Max Verstappen, Brazilian GP (F1) - There have been plenty of Verstappen overtakes to savour this year, but we can go only give the Dutchman one place on this list. Passing Rosberg around the outside at Becketts at Silverstone deserves an honourable mention, but Verstappen giving the German similar treatment at the Senna 'S' at Interlagos was especially breathtaking - and one that will be etched in the collective memory of F1 fans for years to come.

Winner: Verstappen on Rosberg at Brazil

Race of the year

(2015 winner - Phillip Island MotoGP)

Spanish GP (F1) - Hamilton and Rosberg colliding on the opening lap at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya set the stage for one of the most entertaining F1 races of the year, as both Red Bull and Ferrari drivers became embroiled in an absorbing strategic battle for supremacy that ultimately went the way of Max Verstappen - and on the Dutchman's first race after replacing Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull.

Italian GP (MotoGP) - A blown engine may have removed Valentino Rossi from the reckoning early on, but the duel that ensued between Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez for honours at Mugello was up there with the best the sport has seen in recent years. Marquez looked like he had it sewn up on the last lap, but Lorenzo stole the advantage on the drag to the finish line to clinch the win by 0.019s.

Le Mans 24 Hours (WEC) - Even before the jaw-dropping drama that was the #5 Toyota conking out while leading at the 23 hour, 57 minute-mark, the 84th running of the famous La Sarthe race was already shaping up to be a memorable one, with the top three cars all well in contention for most of the distance. But the sight of Kazuki Nakajima's car crawling to a halt along the start/finish straight, and allowing Neel Jani's Porsche through to triumph, is one that will go down in motor racing history.

Bathurst 1000 (Supercars) - For the first 90-odd laps, a lightning fast Jamie Whincup/Paul Dumbrell combo looked completely unbeatable. Then on Lap 150, Whincup, shuffled back through strategy but still on track for a comfortable win, sparked one of The Mountain's most famous crashes when he nudged Scott McLaughlin at the bottom of the chase, which essentially took both those two and Garth Tander out of contention. That set the scene for a fairytale win for single-car squad Tekno, Will Davison holding off a fierce charge from Shane van Gisbergen to take an unlikely victory.

Ford 400 (NASCAR) - The championship climax of NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series was filled with drama from start to finish. One title contender, Jimmie Johnson, started from the rear of the field after NASCAR deemed his team made modifications to his car post-inspection. Late in the race, two other contenders - Carl Edwards and Joey Logano - wrecked each other, before Johnson edged Logano out in overtime to claim his seventh title.

Brazilian GP (F1) - While the rain-affected Interlagos race finished with the usual Mercedes 1-2 - with Hamilton not really troubled by anyone during the three hours it ended up lasting - this year's Brazilian GP was a classic to many thanks to Verstappen's sensational drive to third, in a performance that included a succession of memorable passes (Rosberg being chief among them) and a miraculous save that served to highlight the 19-year-old's incredible reflexes and skill.

Winner: Le Mans 24 Hours

Controversy of the year

(2015 winner - Rossi vs. Marquez feud)

The elimination qualifying saga (F1) - There have been quite a few unpopular rule changes in F1 in recent times, but none more so than an ill-thought-through change to a much-loved qualifying format that resulted in no cars circulating at the very time pole position was meant to be being decided. The new system was so widely reviled that it spurred a level of unity among the teams that is rarely seen, as they fought to have it scrapped - which it mercifully was after just two races.

BoP politics grab headlines at Le Mans (WEC) - Ford made a triumphant return to Le Mans with its head-turning GT, 50 years after its mesmeric battles with Ferrari at the same circuit. But the discrepancy in Ford's pace from the test day to qualifying was controversial, and the subsequent BoP adjustment was unprecedented. Even after the race, the bitterness continued as Ford and Ferrari protested each other post-race – ensuring that the spirit of their 1960s rivalries lives on.

Buemi vs. di Grassi at Battersea (Formula E) - Two former F1 drivers intent on making the most of their abilities in Formula E and WEC with top teams, each with distinctive personalities. At Battersea Park the blue touch-paper was lit as Lucas di Grassi slammed into Sebastien Buemi's car on the first lap of the deciding race - but, despite Buemi's remarks in the heat of the moment, the pair share a form of respect for each others' talents, just as in all the best rivalries.

Nemechek vs. Custer at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (NASCAR Truck) – In the penultimate round before the Truck series Chase, John Hunter Nemechek (already locked into the Chase) denied Cole Custer a spot in the play-offs by punting him wide on the final turn of the final lap at NCWTS's only road course race. They drove locked together along the grass to cross the line with Nemechek ahead by an inch. Custer literally tackled his assailant afterward, but NASCAR penalised neither.

Rossi and Lorenzo's war of words at Misano (MotoGP) - While a degree of normality was restored to relations between Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi in 2016, things remained as frosty as ever between the Italian and teammate Jorge Lorenzo. Tensions finally boiled over at Misano, as Lorenzo accused Rossi of being a "dirty rider" during the post-race press conference after a hard overtaking move, sparking a heated dialogue between the Yamaha duo.

Vettel's rant against Charlie Whiting (F1) - In one of 2016's more bizarre episodes, Sebastian Vettel lost his cool while battling the two Red Bull drivers for the final podium spot at the Mexican Grand Prix, leading him to tell race director Charlie Whiting to "f*** off" after he crossed the line fourth behind Verstappen. A penalty for the Dutchman promoted Vettel to third, before the Ferrari man found himself demoted to fifth and having to apologise profusely to the FIA to avoid further punishment.

Winner: Vettel's rant against Charlie Whiting

Surprise result of the year

(2015 winner - Hulkenberg, Tandy and Bamber win at Le Mans)

Grosjean finishes sixth on Haas debut (F1) - Little was expected of Formula 1's newest team at Melbourne, but a red flag caused by a crash for Fernando Alonso gave Romain Grosjean a free change of tyres and track position that he exploited to the full, the Frenchman hanging on to finish a remarkable sixth in the first race for the Haas outfit. A fifth place at Bahrain two weeks later showed the result was no fluke, though.

Pawi dominates in Argentina (Moto3) - Little known Malaysian rider Khairul Idham Pawi finished an unremarkable 22nd on his Grand Prix debut in Qatar, which meant it was quite a shock to see the youngster simply ride away from the rest of the pack in mixed conditions at Termas de Rio Hondo, only his second start. A second win for the 18-year-old at the Sachsenring merely cemented his credentials as a true wet-weather ace.

Verstappen wins first GP in Spain (F1) - At the time, Daniil Kvyat's sudden demotion to Toro Rosso - and Max Verstappen's promotion to the senior Red Bull team - ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix was seen as a harsh and maybe slightly rash decision by the Austrian firm. But subsequent events proved Red Bull was absolutely on the money with its choice, as aptly demonstrated by Verstappen on his very first outing for the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

Miller wins the Dutch TT (MotoGP) - Marc VDS Honda rider Jack Miller was the fourth different winner of a vintage MotoGP season that went on to produce no fewer than nine victors in total, as the Australian took full advantage of the wet weather at a two-part Assen race to best Marquez and record an unlikely first premier class win - the first for a non-factory rider since 2006.

Rossi wins the Indy 500 (IndyCar) – Alex Rossi adapted well to the Speedway, and Andretti Autosport had fast cars all month. Still, no one expected a rookie winner for the first time in 15 years. But after two comebacks from troubled pitstops, Rossi obeyed the strict instructions from the pitwall, achieved an impossible fuel number, ran out of gas on the final lap but had just enough momentum to coast across the yard of bricks four seconds ahead of teammate Carlos Munoz.

Chris Buescher wins at Pocono (NASCAR Cup) – Tyre issues accounted for Martin Truex, Joey Logano was wiped out by Chase Elliott, and that left Kyle Larson sitting pretty up front. However, a green-flag pitstop would drop Larson to sixth by Lap 139 of the scheduled 160, when rain and fog returned to an event already pushed back to Monday by weather. The leader at this point was Chris Buescher, and when NASCAR called time, the rookie scored Front Row Motorsports' first win in three years.

Winner: Rossi wins the Indy 500