MotogP: Valencia
The final race of the 2018 MotoGP season proved to be quite a spectacular event. It had a lot of drama and also an emotional goodbye
MOTOGP’S GRAND FINALE WAS probably the most exciting race of the season although the weather in Valencia was far from ideal for racing on Sunday. The race was red-flagged following heavy showers mid-way and the restart was more exciting than the initial one. we also witnessed an emotional goodbye to the veteran MotoGP rider, Dani Pedrosa, for whom Valencia marked the culmination of a glorious career.
MotoGP
As mentioned, the final MotoGP racing weekend of 2018 was marked by bad weather right from Friday. The conditions were unfavourable to the riders and the teams. Nevertheless, the riders took to the track on Friday and Saturday with Movistar Yamaha’s Maverick Viñales starting from pole, followed by fellow Spaniard, Alex Rins of Ecstar Suzuki, and Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso in third. The 2018 champion and Repsol Honda rider, Marc Marquez, started from the second row, next to Red Bull KTM’s Pol Espargaro and Alma Pramac Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci.
The Ricardo Tormo circuit was already wet as the riders went out for a sighting lap. By then the rain had stopped but dark clouds were still around and the likelihood of showers seemed imminent.
As the lights went out, Alex Rins quickly zipped past Viñales and took the lead. The first three riders were right on one another’s tail for the first lap. On lap two, Viñales was overtaken by Dovizioso and Pol Espargaro. A few laps later Marquez went past the Yamaha rider, but soon the champion crashed, followed by a few other riders.
The leading pack comprised Alex Rins in P1, Dovi in P2, Rossi in P3, Pedrosa in P4, and Johann Zarco of Monster Tech 3 Yamaha in P5. Just 12 laps into the race and the rain came pouring down, with the result that the race had to be redflagged on the next lap.
The rain abated after about 45 minutes but the track was still too wet. However, the riders decided to continue racing after a sighting lap. The starting order was: Rins, Dovi, Rossi, Pedrosa, Zarco, and the rest of the riders. As the lights went out for the final time, the top order remained more or less the same for the first lap. Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez, however, was unfortunate as he crashed once again, ending the last race with a DNF. On lap two, things started to heat up as Dovi passed Rins for the lead and was running away at the front. Although Rins tried to catch up with the Ducati for six laps, the Spaniard couldn’t do much to stop the leading Italian. On lap seven, Rossi made a wellcalculated move and overtook Rins. By now, Dovi was almost two seconds ahead of Rossi and the gap continued to widen over the next two laps. On lap 10, however, Rossi went down due to deteriorating tyre grip and wet conditions, thus conceding P2 to Rins and elevating Pol Espargaro to P3.
It is worth mentioning that the Red Bull KTM rider, Pol Espargaro, rode exceptionally well while being challenged by MotoGP veteran Dani Pedrosa and Michele Pirro of Ducati. He was able to maintain his position quite well, which saw him earn his and KTM’s first-ever MotoGP podium finish as the race came to an end after 14 laps.
At the front, the action was a very fast and consistent. Andrea Dovizioso kept calm and rode on to emerge victorious. Alex Rins of Ecstar Suzuki was another ecstatic rider who managed to stay on his bike in tricky and slippery conditions, bringing his Suzuki home in second place. Michele Pirro, too, was quite happy as he managed to finish fourth, with Dani Pedrosa rounding off the top five.
It was quite an emotional scene in the Repsol Honda pit garage as Dani made his way back to the pits after the cool-down lap. The crowd, including members of rival teams, applauded Dani’s last ride. The scene was quite emotional as we saw fans cheering Dani from the grandstands above the pits area. It was a heart-warming gesture by the fans and the teams to send Dani off on such an affectionate note. Dani’s fifthplace finish also helped Repsol Honda win the team championship, making them triple champions this year, since they had already won the Riders’ and Constructors’ titles in the previous rounds.