Photo by Gold & Goose
It was the final showdown, the 2015 MotoGP World Championship Grand Finale and it played out like most expected. Valentino Rossi, starting from the rear of the grid, did all he could do by passing all the way up to fourth by the end of the race, but his world championship rival and Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo simply would not be denied. Lorenzo delivered a flawless race and held off the factory Hondas of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa in the closing laps to win the Valencia season finale; his seventh win of the season and with it the 2015 MotoGP World Championship.
For Rossi fans the series didn’t have the storybook ending. Having to start from the back of the grid after a penalty for a run-in with Marc Marquez at Malaysia, Rossi blitzed his way through the field, passing riders for the entire first half of the race. But his charge through the field may have taken too much from Rossi and his bike. Once he cleared to fourth he could not make an impression on the leading trio and finished nearly 20-seconds behind them.
Dani Pedrosa made the race interesting in the end as he closed on the battling leaders. Had the Honda pair been able to pass Lorenzo, the championship would have gone to Rossi, but instead the Honda riders swapped second on the last lap, which was music to Lorenzo’s ears. That little battle between the Honda riders allowed Lorenzo to consolidate his lead on the last half of lap. And to be honest, Lorenzo was simply a machine the entire race. He turned lap after lap in the front, never yielding to constant pressure from both Marquez and the situation in general.
Rossi wouldn’t be alone on the last row as expected. Cal Crutchlow’s Honda had engine problems and he had to switch bikes and also start from the back alongside the championship leader.
The first half of the race Lorenzo, Marquez and Pedrosa broke away to the front. The attention was focused on Rossi’s charge. He passed a massive group of riders in the first two turns, but then as he continued passing it got progressively more difficult. Getting by Bradley Smith took Rossi some time. The only rider who seemed to let Rossi by was fellow Italian Danilo Petrucci. Every other position Rossi took once inside the top 10 was with considerable effort. By the halfway point he’d broken through to fourth, but the leaders were 11 seconds up the road. He could not close, in fact he lost ground in the second half.
It would not be a storybook ending for American Nicky Hayden either as he finished his MotoGP career in 17thplace.
For Lorenzo there was the emotion of coming from seven points behind in the final race and remaining constant under intense pressure. His championship was indeed well deserved and received a warm welcome from the throng of fans as he rose to the top step of the podium.
“There was a lot of pressure and the rear tire was destroyed,” said now three-time MotoGP World Champion Lorenzo. “To be honest I didn’t see anything on the straight in all the laps. I didn’t see the board, I didn’t see how many laps it was to finish. I just tried to focus myself to go as fast as possible – sliding around and moving so much the bike. So I just keep my concentration and prayed to finish the race. Now I am five-times world champion (adding his two 250cc titles) it’s easy to say, but now we make unbelievable show, Yamaha make an unbelievable bike and my team is perfect. I am very proud to win.”
MotoGP results from Valencia, Spain – Nov. 8, 2015
1 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 156.7 45’59.364
2 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 156.7 +0.263
3 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 156.7 +0.654
4 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 155.6 +19.789
5 44 Pol ESPARGARO SPA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 155.2 +26.004
6 38 Bradley SMITH GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 155.1 +28.835
7 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team Ducati 155.1 +28.886
8 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 154.8 +34.222
9 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR LCR Honda Honda 154.7 +35.924
10 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Octo Pramac Racing Ducati 154.5 +39.579
11 25 Maverick VIÑALES SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 154.5 +39.746
12 51 Michele PIRRO ITA Ducati Team Ducati 154.1 +47.053
13 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ COL Octo Pramac Racing Ducati 153.7 +54.081
14 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 153.6 +56.646
15 45 Scott REDDING GBR EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 153.5 +57.278
16 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Avintia Racing Ducati 153.5 +57.363
17 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Aspar MotoGP Team Honda 153.4 +58.742
18 6 Stefan BRADL GER Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 153.4 +59.086
19 76 Loris BAZ FRA Forward Racing Yamaha Forward 153.1 +1’04.339
20 24 Toni ELIAS SPA Forward Racing Yamaha Forward 153.1 +1’04.413
21 43 Jack MILLER AUS LCR Honda Honda 153.1 +1’05.212
22 13 Anthony WEST AUS AB Motoracing Honda 151.9 +1’27.281
Not Classified
63 Mike DI MEGLIO FRA Avintia Racing Ducati 152.6 6 Laps
50 Eugene LAVERTY IRL Aspar MotoGP Team Honda 152.2 7 Laps
23 Broc PARKES AUS E-Motion IodaRacing Team ART 150.9 9 Laps
29 Andrea IANNONE ITA Ducati Team Ducati 152.2 28 Laps
