With a 13-point advantage, the smart money was on rookie sensation Marquez taking the MotoGP title at his home round in Valencia. However as Phillip Island proved, in bike racing nothing is certain...
Lorenzo and Pedrosa battled the whole race
Lining up on pole, the pre-race luck seemed to be with Marc when Lorenzo suffered an engine malfunction on his flying qualification lap. There again, with no pressure on him, Lorenzo looked relaxed and was right behind Marc on the grid. Not only that, he was also fastest in pre-race practice.
Out with the lights and Lorenzo got the better start, leading Pedrosa, Marquez and Rossi on the first lap. Maybe it was team orders, maybe Dani just wanted to impress his home fans, but there was certainly some fire in his belly and he was not willing to let Lorenzo escape, often swapping paint with his fellow Spaniard. But there also a wildcard in the mix - Bautista, who was now past Rossi.
Fair play to Lorenzo, he certainly wasn't taking any prisoners. Despite his best efforts, Dani simply couldn't make it past Lorenzo as Jorge repeatedly barged him out of the way - a tactic that eventually backfired...
Marquez took the title after finishing 3rd
An overly aggressive defensive move by Lorenzo saw Marc slip past into the lead while Dani dropped to fifth. Could Lorenzo make it back past? Of course he could. Riding like a man possessed, Lorenzo was soon back in front and now Bautista was in third and looking keen on getting involved in the scrap for the lead.
Sadly for Lorenzo, with Marc behind he was forced to up the pace, a tactic that saw both Bautista and Rossi drop off the tail. As so many races before, by half distance the Valencia MotoGP looked likely to be a three horse race between Lorenzo, Marquez and Pedrosa. Could Lorenzo slow the pace down to allow the others to catch up?
Ten laps to go and after all the initial excitement the Valencia race was turning into a bit of a procession. Lorenzo was clear for the win, Marc in second and Dani a team mate friendly third. Was it job done for the Marc?
Sure enough, despite Dani slipping past, Marc crossed the line in third spot to become the youngest ever MotoGP winner. The kid has been a sensation this year, breaking just about every record and thoroughly deserving the title.
Marquez is the youngest MotoGP champ ever
Moto2 and with the title all wrapped up, Espargaro was going for Spanish glory. Sadly for the new Moto2 champion it wasn't to be and having led the race he slung it up the road! The race was eventually won by Terol.
Moto3 promised a spectacular race with Rins, Vinales and Salom all in with a championship shout. From the start the top three in the championship led the race, only for Salom to drop it mid-race, leaving the title battle to Vinales and Rins. Winner of the race takes the title, how more exciting can you get? Last lap, last corner, Vinales took the win and championship. What a race!
MotoGP
1. Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing)
2. Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team)
3. Marquez (Repsol Honda Team)
Moto2
1. Terol (Aspar Team Moto2)
2. Torres (Aspar Team Moto2)
3. Zarco (Came Iodaracing Project)
Moto3
1: Vinales (Team Calvo)
2: Folger (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3)
3: Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
Cal Crutchlow (MotoGP) - DNF
Bradley Smith (MotoGP) - 7
Michael Laverty (MotoGP - CRT) - 17
Scott Redding (Moto2) - 15
Gino Rea - (Moto2) - 19
John McPhee (Moto3) - DNF