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Marc Marquez and Alex Rins have chance to become World Champions at final race of the season. MotoGP rookie needs to place fourth or higher to guarantee title, whilst Moto3 star needs to cut 6 and 3 point gaps, respectively, from two rivals.
• Marc Marquez has a 13 point advantage over Jorge Lorenzo coming into the race and needs to place fourth or higher to guarantee the title.
• Dani Pedrosa has won 6 GPs held in Valencia: 1 in 125cc, 2 in 250cc and 3 in MotoGP.
• Alex Marquez won his first Grand Prix at Motegi last time out, and has been on the podium at 5 of the last 8 races.
A total of 17 MotoGP races and 16 Moto3 contests were not enough to decide the World Champions for the two categories, meaning the season heads into a grand finale this weekend at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia. The final event of the year will crown two titlists in what is sure to be a memorable weekend. Marc Marquez defends his series lead against reigning champion Jorge Lorenzo in the premier class, whilst Alex Rins, Luis Salom and Maverick Viñales are all in with a chance at the lower cylinder category title.
13 points separate current MotoGP leader Marc Marquez and second-placed Jorge Lorenzo. The Repsol Honda team rider will try to maintain or extend this advantage at the last race of the season, in which he would be assured of the World Championship with a finish of fourth place or higher –regardless of Lorenzo’s final position in the race. His teammate, Dani Pedrosa, comes to Valencia with 280 points on the board, and will finish the year with his second best total ever since his arrival in MotoGP in 2006. His best total to date was last season’s 332.
In Moto3, the distance between the three title contenders is much closer. Alex Rins needs to take 6 points from Luis Salom (5 in the event of a win) and 3 from Maverick Viñales. However, these three riders have taken victory at 15 of the 16 races held so far this season. Salom has won 7, Viñales 2 and Rins 6. The only thing guaranteed is that one of the trio will become the first Moto3 World Champion to hail from Spain.
Alex Marquez is not part of the title picture, but is motivated to continue a winning run opened with his maiden Grand Prix victory in Japan a fortnight ago.
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Dani Pedrosa
“I’m looking forward to going to Valencia and racing in front of the home fans! We’ve had a long trip in Asia and it will be nice to race in Valencia again, where the atmosphere is always very special. Even though we are out of the Championship now, I’ve had good results here in the past with many victories ‒including last year when we won after starting from the pits‒ and I want to end the season on a high.”
Marc Marquez
“It’s been nice to have a week at home after a long three weeks away, after my accident in Motegi I’ve doing muscular rehabilitation on my neck in anticipation for the race, and it now feels much better. We’ve had good races in Valencia; I’ve always tried to give it my best there. I have fond memories of last year’s race in Moto2 but the weather will also be a factor to consider because it is very changeable. I’m already looking forward to getting back in the pit garage and getting on the bike! Obviously we know what is at stake in this final Grand Prix of the year, but we will -as ever- approach it as we have done every other race, and work hard from the Friday and do our best.”
Alex Rins
“It will be very important to do well in Valencia. We left Japan with a bad taste in our mouths, so I hope to do well at the last race of the year. The track is not the most suited to my riding style because it has some very slow corners. In previous years I have struggled a bit to go fast there, but in the preseason tests there I was able to find a good setup for the bike. I’m sure that we have to improve it, but we can start off with something familiar and from there hopefully we will do well.”
Alex Marquez
“The Ricardo Tormo circuit is one that we know from the Spanish Championship and I’ve ridden there quite a few times. Even this year, in preseason, we had the chance to ride there with the current bike, so I’ll have a base upon which to start work. We will have be very alert and focused, because when you ride there in November the weather can affect the time that the track will be dry. You have to take advantage of this before it rains. I can’t wait to go to Valencia because, as we saw in Japan, the most important thing is that we have improved in the final stages of the races.”
