The Valencia Grand Prix promised to be packed with emotions as Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) bid farewell to competition, and ‘Il Dottore’ would conclude his career with a tenth-place finish.
Meanwhile, Ducati scored a clean sweep, as evidenced by the victory secured by Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), his fourth this year, ahead of Jorge Martín (Pramac Racing) and Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team).
The start of the race initially favored Jorge Martín. Starting from the pole, the Madrid native maintained the lead into the first corner ahead of Jack Miller and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar): two men who, like Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), would fall back a bit, successively overtaken by Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar). The Australian even briefly found himself in sixth place after Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) managed to pass him.
Up front, the trio of Jorge Martín – Francesco Bagnaia – Alex Rins began to pull away. Unfortunately, Alex Rins was caught out a few moments later at curve 6; marking his sixth zero-score result this season. As a result, No. 89 and No. 63 were left alone at the front. But suddenly, Jack Miller recovered, surpassed Fabio Quartararo, then Joan Mir. In the end, he was just three-tenths short of dislodging Jorge Martín from second place. Francesco Bagnaia, meanwhile, remained out of reach.
The Turin native, who was notably sporting a Valentino Rossi helmet, triumphed ahead of Jorge Martín, crowned best rookie, and Jack Miller. Joan Mir had to settle for fourth place, which Fabio Quartararo nearly snatched from him at the end. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) finished sixth, while Brad Binder secured seventh. Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama), Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini), who struggled more as the finish approached, and Valentino Rossi completed the Top 10.
The season concluded with the end of “Vale’s” career and the first title for Fabio Quartararo. Will he be the successor to the former champion? We’ll find out in 2022.
