2019 MotoGP preview: Rd19, Valencia, Spain

After 18 rounds, some of the greatest races in history and three new world champions, it’s almost time to bring the curtain down on the 2019 Road Racing World Championship at Valencia in Spain from November 15-17.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) arrives at Circuit Ricardo Tormo already part-way through his sixth term as the king of MotoGP, but there’s still more than personal glory on the line. The team standings have Repsol Honda and Ducati facing off in the final round, and Marquez has already played a huge part in getting them there. Can he secure the title and therefore the triple crown?

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and teammate Danilo Petrucci will be gunning to stop him, with one already secure in second overall and the other looking to bounce back. And what of the retiring Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda)? It’s been a tough run for the five-time world champion as he continues his recovery to full fitness and adaptation to the Honda, but this is turf he knows better than most – and has utterly dominated in the past.

It must be Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha) who arrives with the momentum, however. After outpacing Marquez in Australia but finding himself unable to outrace him, Malaysia saw the No. 12 put in one of his best ever rides to cross the line in his own postcode out front.

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Marquez wins at PI, Miller on the podium!

He’s got some good memories at Valencia too, most notably winning the 2013 Moto3 title at the very last corner on the very last lap, so he’ll likely be top of the watch list for his rivals. And he has to be for one rival in particular: Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar).

Rins has had a tougher run of it since his incredible victory at Silverstone, and the Spaniard is now 7pts behind Viñales in the fight for third overall. That means he’ll need to beat him and by a margin if he’s to end the season in the top three, so he’ll be pushing hard for that. But rookie teammate Joan Mir has been giving him something to think about of late too, and that battle seems set to only get closer…

The rookie on a roll was, is and likely will be someone else though: Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT). Race day at Sepang was tougher than Saturday, but he’d broken the lap record a handful of times by the time the lights went out – and outfoxed Marquez’ Q2 tactics.

He’s got one more chance to win a race, and plenty more on the line: he’s just ahead of Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha) as we arrive, and that would be something for the CV in a debut year. Valencia hasn’t always proven the best track for ‘The Doctor’ either, so could it swing the Frenchman’s way?

There’s a bigger prize Quartararo is up for though: top Independent Team rider. With a healthy 23pt advantage over Aussie Jack Miller (Pramac Ducati) – his only remaining rival for the title – it seems a formality in some ways, but never say never, especially with Miller.

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Jack’s Valencia preview

In terms of top Independent Team rider in the race the two will likely have company from Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) and Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) too, and a good few gazes will also be watching Johann Zarco (LCR Honda Idemitsu) in his third ride on the Honda. Sepang ended early through no fault of his own – how will the season end?

Twelve months ago, meanwhile, the season ended on a serious high for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. Pol Espargaro put in one of the rides of his career in the wet to take third place; his first premier class podium and KTM’s first too.

The hard work continues for the Austrian factory but the good memories at the track will be a nice reminder that it’s already been paying off, sometimes in a big way. There’s no Miguel Oliveira at Red Bull KTM Tech 3 this weekend either, with Iker Lecuona debuting one race early as an injury replacement – so that’s something to watch out for too.