MotoGP wouldn’t be the same without the Valencia Grand Prix, which has played host to the final round of the World Championship since 2002. That said, Lorenzo claims he will go into the race without any special tactics. I equal Wayne Rainey, I equal Kenny Roberts Sr, I equal Ayrton Senna in the motorsport world with these three premier class World Titles, it’s unbelievable!
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Lorenzo’s address to the media, and thus his millions of fans, should have been an opportunity to revel in his winning his third MotoGP title.
Rossi was a man on a mission and while the four riders at the front started to open up a gap, he carved his way through the field.
For a few reason, the 2015 season lacked the feeling that MotoGP was any longer a gentlemen’s sport, and I can’t wait to see this awesome aura restored.
“We understand that it’s been a very hard day for Valentino, after leading the championship for 17 races and losing by just five points in the final race must be very disappointing”.
“I was ready to lose the championship to Jorge, who is always very fast, but this way for me is not fair”.
If Rossi had finished second he would have held on to the points lead he had going into the Valencia race but it proved beyond the nine-times world champion. It’s disrespectful to me as a motorcycle racer, it’s disrespectful to my team who have 50 staff here every weekend busting their arse for me to finish one place, one second, one tenth higher up than what I was going to. The Spaniard has become Rossi’s arch-enemy, with the two clashing on a number of occasions and the Italian accusing the Honda rider of helping Lorenzo and acting like his “bodyguard”.
“The recent events… have had a damaging effect on the staging of our competitions and poisoned the atmosphere around the sport”, said FIM president Vito Ippolito. On the last lap I passed the last corner and saw the chequered flag and I couldn’t believe that I won the race and the championship in the last moment. “At the end I think that also Lorenzo have to not be very happy, as it is not a championship that was won on track”.
The race itself was far more tame, with Lorenzo leading from start to finish. By the next lap the Doctor was up to 10th and when Ducati’s Andrea Iannone crashed out of the race while in fourth, Rossi bumped up to ninth. The Italian rider was already fourth and was several seconds ahead of the next rider. Rossi said Marquez had the pace on his Honda to get past Lorenzo’s Yamaha if he wanted to.
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The two then dueled ferociously for seven laps around the Sepang worldwide Circuit, before the Yamaha rider seemed to deliberately push his opponent wide, then appeared to aim a kick at the 22 year-old’s Repsol Honda. If the Spaniard crossed the line second, Rossi would have to be off the podium and if he was third, he needed his rival to finish outside of the top six.
