The whole world was watching as Jorge Lorenzo became the 2015 MotoGP champion.
MotoGP Valencia Race Report
This will be one of those, ‘where were you when…’ moments for all MotoGP fans for years to come. Jorge Lorenzo rode a stunning race, holding off the Honda boys from flag to flag to finish top of the podium. This was his seventh win this season, and gained him the title by 5 points as Rossi finished in fourth.
Of course, it was all down to Lorenzo and Rossi in Valencia, the two former champions battling it out for the final time this season. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see a straight Lorenzo vs Rossi duel, with Valentino starting from dead last as his penalty appeal from Sepang was denied.
In true Valentino Rossi style, the Doctor gave it his absolute best as he stormed past 8 other riders in the first lap. There were a few permutations that would have granted him his 10th world title, some of them (ironically) depending on a Marquez victory.
With a mere 7 points separating him and his teammate, Valentino’s performance was crucial, as he had to place in the top six to have any real chance. Second was the ultimate goal, which would have seen him lift a 10th world title trophy – no matter where Lorenzo finished.
Rossi managed to execute several excellent passes, each one bringing out a roar from the mostly-yellow Valencia stands. After a brief tussle with the Espargaro brothers, Rossi made it into fourth – and this is where his charge to victory stopped. To the fans’ dismay, it was clear that Rossi would never close the huge 10 second gap between him and the top three.
Lorenzo had pulled away strongly from the beginning, and now all eyes were on the potential champion and the two chasing Hondas of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa. Rossi fans now found themselves cheering for Marquez, as the Honda riders strived to obey team orders to make it a Honda 1-2 on the podium. This was the final Honda-Yamaha showdown, with everyone expecting Marquez to go for it in the final laps.
The Marquez drama continues…
With just a few laps to go and Marquez getting nowhere, Dani Pedrosa came from behind, closing a 3-second gap, ready to take on Lorenzo… only to be blocked by his own teammate as Marquez refused to let him pass!
Now, this wouldn’t be the 2015 MotoGP if tongues weren’t wagging with conspiracy theories and good old Rossi-Marquez rivalry. To some, it seemed that Marquez had sabotaged Pedrosa in order to deny Rossi his 10th world title.
This was certainly the view of Rossi himself, who let his bitterness show: “I think that the situation was already bad, but today was embarrassing for everybody because it was unbelievable, the behaviour of Marquez is something very bad for everything, especially for the sport.”
Marquez, after finishing in second on an all-Spanish podium, had this to say: “I did not expect Dani to come through so quickly, and when he passed me he ran wide. I used that to pass him back but Jorge had escaped by half a second making it impossible to recover the gap, even though I rode the last lap and the entire race at 100%.”
Despite yet more controversy, the achievement of Dani Pedrosa in third place can’t be underestimated. After starting the season dogged by injury and unable to compete, he has gone on to win two races and gain his 100th podium in the premier class – an achievement only Rossi can equal.
Dani commented: “I’m very happy and I enjoyed the race – especially in the final part!…I am happy because what I can take from here – as well as the third place in the race and fourth in the Championship – is the attitude and the progress we have made in the final part of the season.” Well done Dani!
So how did our Brits do in Valencia?
We couldn’t mention British riders without saying Congratulations to Danny Kent! 21-year-old Kent finished 9th in the final Moto3 race of the season, seeing off his title rivals and ending a 38-year wait for a British GP champion. The last time a Brit was world champion was when Barry Sheene topped the 500cc class in 1977.
Back to MotoGP, and Bradley Smith has had an excellent year which has seen him compete at the very top ranks of motorcycle racing and finish 6th in the world standings. He also came 6th in the Valencia race, holding off Andrea Dovizioso’s factory Ducati.
Smith reflected: “It has been a fantastic season and almost perfect after completing all of the 18 rounds…I can’t be hard on myself as I ended up in the top six and I collected a total of 181 points over the year.” We’re expecting great things next year from this young man!
Cal Crutchlow qualified in a strong 5th, but was forced to start from the back of the grid as his bike was replaced before the race. He was unable to warm up properly, but still managed an impressive 9th as he stalked through the field. He finished 8th in the championship this year.
Crutchlow looked forward to next season: “I think it was an average year for me…I think with some new parts next year we can be back where we belong challenging for podiums and I’m looking forward to that and am grateful for the faith they have shown in me.”
Scott Redding had a lot of problems with his bike this time, ending the race in 15th place. He has achieved 13th place in the championship and had his first taste of a MotoGP podium this year – onwards and upwards, we hope.
Redding commented: “My goal, as always, was top ten, but it was a big ask this weekend because we’ve had a lot of difficulties since the first practice session. It wasn’t the race I was looking for, but it also wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be.”
What an amazing year!
Congratulations to Jorge Lorenzo, commiserations to Rossi, and thanks for reading our 2015 MotoGP race reports.
If you’ve missed any of the 2015 MotoGP races, or you want to relive the glory and drama of this season, go to our Racing News section and find all of our 2015 race reports.
Photos courtesy of www.motogp.com
