The race was declared wet by Race Direction despite a near dry line
having formed, and only Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo, his
teammate Nakasuga, and LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl, chose the softer
option slick tyres, with all others on the hard wets. However, in a
twist unseen this season, Pedrosa, Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden, Monster
Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow and San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro
Bautista then decided to start from pit-lane after their sighting lap,
with all of them switching to a bike with slick tyres.
As the race got underway it was Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix
Espargaró who was leading the early exchanges, yet within three laps
Lorenzo’s choice looked the better one as he started to lap
significantly quicker than the rest. Pedrosa was carving his way through
the pack, whilst many riders that were on wets started coming into the
pits to switch to their bikes with slicks, amongst which were Repsol
Honda’s Stoner, Pramac Racing Team’s Héctor Barberá, and Tech 3’s Andrea
Dovizioso.
Amid the frantic happenings, Hayden, Avintia Blusens’ Iván Silva, and
Speed Master’s Roberto Rolfo crashed out of contention. On lap eight,
Lorenzo was leading with Pedrosa in tow, whilst Bradl was running third
with Nakasuga and Crutchlow behind. It was however not to be for the
young German as he lost control of his bike in Turn 5 and crashed out.
With 18 laps remaining Crutchlow’s efforts were rewarded by getting past
Nakasuga, as Pedrosa had a moment and ran wide, putting him over three
seconds back on Lorenzo.
Then there was huge drama as the World Champion was highsided off his
bike as he was passing back markers, and was fortunate to walk away
unhurt. This left Pedrosa in the lead, who also had his work cut out
getting past the slower riders. On lap 19 the crashes continued as
Barberá also took a tumble, whilst Espargaró’s teammate Randy de Puniet
ran into the gravel. A lap later he was followed Avintia Blusens’
Claudio Corti, who skidded off into the gravel on his Inmotec chassis.
Just as things looked to have settled down, Crutchlow was caught out by
the conditions and dropped out of second place. This moved Bautista up
into third, although Stoner was catching up quickly in fourth. And with
three laps remaining Stoner was all over the rear wheel Bautista and
caught him at the end of the lap down the home straight to move into
third.
In the end it was Pedrosa who took chequered flag to score his seventh
win of the season, with Nakasuga taking the first Japanese podium this
year in his second wildcard entry, and Stoner signing off his GP career
with the final step on the rostrum. The first non-podium finisher was
Bautista, followed by his teammate Michele Pirro, Dovizioso, Cardion AB
Racing’s Karel Abraham, Came IodaRacing Project’s Danilo Petrucci, Paul
Bird Motorsport’s James Ellison and Ducati’s Valentino Rossi. Espargaró
finished in 11th and secured himself the CRT title this season, whilst Bautista consolidated fifth in the championship.
"Considering everything that happened today, we're very happy with a
podium. My motivation wasn't particularly high today as I haven't wanted
to push in the wet and haven't felt comfortable on the bike. I just
didn't want to take any risks of crashing and damaging my ankle again so
I was very cautious and this isn't how I like to ride. Even with the
choice of going with the wets, not the slick tyres at the beginning of
the race, I took the easy option, which really isn't me. When I saw the
slicks had a big advantage, we came in and changed bikes and went back
out and pushed as hard as we could, without taking unnecessary risks. In
the end we were able to chase down Álvaro and take the last spot on the
podium in our last race. My team are like my second family, we've been
through a lot of ups and downs together and it's going to be difficult
not to see them every week. I'm sorry for them and for everyone who has
supported me for so long but this is the way it is and it's time to say
goodbye. Thank you to all the people who have supported us over the
years and all our sponsors, and to everyone in the Repsol Honda Team.”
The Australian becomes the 20th MotoGP™ Legend, joining an exclusive
club, whose members are: Giacomo Agostini, Mick Doohan, Geoff Duke,
Wayne Gardner, Mike Hailwood, Daijiro Kato, Eddie Lawson, Anton Mang,
Angel Nieto, Wayne Rainey, Phil Read, Jim Redman, Kenny Roberts, Jarno
Saarinen, Kevin Schwantz, Barry Sheene, Freddie Spencer, John Surtees
and Carlo Ubbiali.
Stoner concluded his career at the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat
Valenciana taking third position in a thrilling race ran in mixed
conditions, five and a half months after announcing his decision to
retire at the end of this season.
Big things were heralded for Stoner when, as a 15 year-old, he made his
World Championship debut as a 125cc wildcard at Donington Park in 2001.
Having graduated through the same academy system that also produced his
future factory Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa, Stoner fully capitalised on
the bold move made by his family of moving to Europe to further his
fledgling career.
A full time Grand Prix career started in the 250cc category under Lucio
Cecchinello’s guidance in 2002, but it was a step down to the 125cc
class the following season that saw Stoner’s talent begin to fully
flourish with four podiums and a first victory in the final round of the
campaign. In 2004 he challenged for the title, taking KTM’s first ever
Grand Prix win and ending the season fifth overall.
A step back up to 250s with Cecchinello’s team in 2005 produced a
thrilling battle with Pedrosa for the title as Stoner amassed five wins
on the Aprilia, and the next year he and the LCR team debuted in the
premier MotoGP class on board a Honda as the Australian displayed
flashes of brilliance – which included a pole position in only his
second race at Qatar and second place in Turkey – mixed with a few
disappointing crashes, all part of the learning experience. He had shown
enough to encourage Ducati to make an offer to ride on their factory
team the next season, and what followed was a stunning campaign.
A maiden MotoGP victory in the first race of 2007 at Qatar was a
self-confessed surprise for both rider and team, but once he followed
this up with wins at Turkey and China a title challenge became a more
than realistic target. His standout performance at Catalunya, where he
battled toe-to-toe with five-time champion Valentino Rossi will go down
as one of the great races in history, whilst he dominated the mid-season
with pole-to-flag victories at three consecutive races at Laguna Seca,
Brno and Misano. Stoner went on to secure the title with four rounds to
spare, and ended 2007 with a total of 10 wins, 14 podiums and 5 poles.
Defending his title in 2008, Stoner fought rival Rossi intensely as the
pair crossed swords on a number of occasions, their duel at Laguna Seca
still being talked about as one of the greatest battles of recent
years, and the Australian eventually ended the season runner-up to his
Italian adversary despite taking 6 wins and 9 poles in a strong second
campaign on the Desmosedici.
2009 did not run a smooth course for Stoner, a mid-season three-race
break due to fatigue uncovered a lactose intolerance that had affected
his physical condition on the bike, and he ended the season 4th overall
in the standings. 2010 was to prove not much easier as he took only
three wins – all in the final third of the season – on an increasingly
hard to tame Desmosedici. By that stage it had already been announced
that Stoner would ride for the factory Repsol Honda team in 2011.
The switch proved a resounding success as the 2007 World Champion
displayed the same kind of dominant form that delivered him his first
title four years earlier. Pole position and victory in the opening round
in Qatar was a sign of things to come, and by the time Stoner won the
race in Phillip Island to clinch the title with two more rounds to spare
he had already taken nine victories. Added to that race success was an
incredible consistency, which saw him finish off the podium just once –
in the second round at Jerez where he crashed out through no fault of
his own. Winning his home race in Australia for a fifth consecutive
season handed Stoner not only his second World title, but his 32nd
career MotoGP victory, as he took victory from another pole position –
his 11th of the season; this represented a new record for the most poles
in one season in the MotoGP four-stroke era.
Stoner went into the 2012 season as clear favourite after his dominance
in 2011, however the first races revealed that Jorge Lorenzo would
prove a much tougher challenge than the year before. In addition to
this, rumours about his retirement had been rife from the second race in
Jerez, which the Australian ultimately confirmed in Le Mans. His year
was cruelly interrupted by a nasty injury obtained in a crash in
Indianapolis, which saw his fracture his right ankle and damage his
ligaments badly, keeping him out for three races. He came back from
injury in Japan, yet it was not until his final home race in Phillip
Island that he once again showed his true colours, with one of the most
dominant performances of the year. He bowed out in the final race in
Valencia with a podium finish, taking third in the championship with
five wins, ten podiums, five pole positions and ten front row starts.
Stoner retired at the age of 27, having amassed two MotoGP™ World
Championships, 45 Grand Prix victories, 89 podium finishes and 43
pole-positions.
Moto2: Sublime Márquez wins from last spot in stunning Valencia race
Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s Marc Márquez rode a phenomenal race at the
Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana as he charged his way
to victory from last on the grid ahead of Julián Simón and Nico Terol.
In a race that started on a wet track, Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2’s Terol
had a sensational start and took the lead in Turn 4, which was named
after him earlier in the day. He had Tuenti Movil HP 40’s Pol
Espargaró, Came IodaRacing Projects’ Simone Corsi and
Interwetten-Paddock’s Tom Lüthi in tow. Márquez, who started last, was
already up to 11th after just one lap. Blusens Avintia’s Julián Simón had also charged up the field and was on the back of Espargaró’s rear wheel.
Whilst Márquez was looking strong, Federal Oil Gresini Moto2’s Gino Rea
made a pass on the Spaniard, as the pair was being held up by Terol’s
teammate Jordi Torres. With 21 laps remaining Torres had been passed, as
Rea had also made his way past Technomag-CIP’s Dominique Aegerter, with
Márquez finding it tougher to pass the Swiss rider. The battling was
fierce as the group caught up to Lüthi, who was soon involved in the
fight for sixth.
There was however drama a few laps later as Espargaró slid off after
making contact with Corsi. He managed to re-mount and re-join in 18th.
In the meantime, Simón had passed Terol to take the lead, as
Espargaró’s crash left Tech 3 Racing’s Xavier Siméon in third. JiR
Moto2’s Johann Zarco made himself known on lap nine, as the Frenchman
found his stride and started to halt Márquez’s progress. Siméon’s race
was however soon halted as he slid off, with Zarco soon following suit
as conditions started to worsen.
Márquez and Rea continued their enthralling battle, once touching,
which saw Márquez having to run wide. Yet Márquez did not hold back as
he passed Rea and then Aegerter in a tough move town the straight, which
prompted the Spaniard to hold up an apologetic hand. Rea suffered
disappointment soon after as he crashed out chasing Márquez, who was
then in third spot. In the meantime, QMMF Racing’s Rafid Topan Sucipto
had crashed out, yet was able to re-join the race, while his teammate
Elena Rosell was taken out by JiR Moto2’s Eric Granado.
With eight laps left Márquez was on a mission as he flew past Terol and
started to hunt down Simón at the front. His pace was significantly
higher than the front-runner, and with three laps left Márquez was on
the back wheel of Simón. And heading into the penultimate lap the World
Champion made his way past to take the lead. He did not relinquish that
lead and ended up taking victory in his final ever Moto2™ race before
moving up to MotoGP™ in stunning fashion. It is the first time in
history that a rider has won a race from 33rd on the grid.
Simón and Terol took the final spots on the podium, with this being
Terol’s first ever podium in the intermediate-class.
They were followed by Lüthi, Aegerter, Torres, Marc VDS Racing Team’s
Mika Kallio, Espargaró, Italtrans Racing Team’s Toni Elías and Pons’
Esteve Rabat. Speed Master’s Andrea Iannone, despite only finishing in
11th, managed to hold onto third spot in the championship ahead of Lüthi.
Moto3: Kent storms to stunning victory in Valencia season finale
In a thrilling final Moto3™ encounter in the wet at the Gran Premio
Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana it was Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Danny Kent
who put in a stunning ride to take victory ahead of Sandro Cortese and
Zulfahmi Khairuddin.
Pole-man Jonas Folger had technical issues on the out-lap and had to
start from the pits, meaning that it was RW Racing GP’s Luis Salom that
led the early exchanges in front of Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Miguel
Oliveira and Ambrogio Next Racing’s Alex Márquez. On lap three it was
Márquez that went into the lead, with Oliveira following suit to
relegate Salom to third. This was however short lived as Márquez lost
the front and crashed out.
In the pursuing group, Racing Team Germany’s Louis Rossi was putting on
a strong show ahead of JHK t-shirt Laglisse’s Efrén Vázquez and Red
Bull KTM Ajo duo of Cortese and Kent. Folger’s day then got worse as he
retired from the race, as well as JHK’s Adrián Martín and IodaRacing
Project’s Luigi Morciano. Caretta-Technology’s John McPhee was also
caught out by the wet as he dropped his bike on lap eight.
Yet as more riders got used to the track surface, the likes of Salom’s
teammate Brad Binder starting challenging the front-runners. With 13
laps remaining Salom had dropped off the pace and was embroiled in an
entertaining battle with Blusens Avintia’s Maverick Viñales. Past the
halfway point and the battles were hotting up with Salom and Viñales, as
well as Binder and Kent going fairing-to-fairing.
On lap 15 there was huge drama as Vázquez los the front and took out
Oliveira, with Cortese leading comfortably. Four laps later
Caretta-Technology’s Jack Miller also put his bike in the gravel,
putting an end to his race. Riders were dropping out frequently in the
latter stages, as Mahindra Racing’s Danny Webb retired, and Rossi’s
teammate Toni Finsterbusch crashed out.
In the final two laps, Cortese’s teammate Danny Kent, AirAsia-SIC-Ajo’s
Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Andalucia JHK t-shirt Laglisse’s Héctor Faubel
were involved in the podium tussle, which proved nail bighting until the
final bends, as Kent put in a stunning move to pass Cortese.
And in the end it was Kent who kept his nerve to take his second
victory in front of Cortese and Khairuddin, who recorded his second-ever
podium. Fourth spot went to Binder, followed by Faubel, Rossi,
Redox-Ongetta-Centro Seta’s Jakub Kornfeil, Viñales, TT Motion Events
Racing’s Niklas Ajo and Luis Salom. Salom thereby secured the
championship runner-up spot, and with Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Alex Rins
finishing ahead of Team Italia FMI’s Romano Fenati, the Spaniard has
taken the Rookie of the Year honours.
