Lorenzo ends season on victorious note

Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo signed off a hugely successful 2010 campaign with a ninth win of the year overnight in Valencia, taking victory in front of a delighted home crowd.

Lorenzo, who before this weekend had never won at the circuit in any of the three classes in which he had competed there, eventually crossed the finish line 4.576 seconds clear of Casey Stoner (Ducati), who was followed onto the podium by Valentino Rossi (Yamaha).

In the other big news from Valencia, Spanish teenager Marc Marquez (Derbi) claimed the 125cc title with a solid fourth place finish.

Despite the margin of victory for Lorenzo, it was far from a straightforward win for the 23-year-old, who did magnificently to avoid crashing when he touched bikes with Marco Simoncelli (Honda) early on. Motivated even further by the moment Lorenzo determinedly pushed on and rode brilliantly to end his season in the perfect manner.

"Coming here to Valencia I really wanted to win one more time in this fantastic season, in front of my home fans,” said Lorenzo. “I made a good start today but in the second corner trying to pass Casey I got overtaken by three or four riders, then I had a hard fight with Simoncelli when I nearly fell!

“I kept calm after that and concentrated and then lap-by-lap I recovered. I had a wonderful fight with Casey at the end. Winning here in front of my home crowd at this special track is one of the happiest moments of my life. We are proud to have got the record for the most number of points with 383.

“I used to be known as a crazy rider who crashed too much so to demonstrate consistency in this way makes me proud. Thanks to Yamaha and everyone involved for a fantastic season - now we have time to celebrate tonight before we start working for 2011 on Tuesday. Finally I want to say goodbye and good luck to Valentino -- I am looking forward to racing him next year!"

In second place and ending his four-year partnership with Ducati, Stoner had led the race for much of the contest but with eight of the 30 laps remaining he was unable to prevent Lorenzo taking over. The Australian, who had displayed blistering pace in practice and qualifying to take pole, selected the harder rear compound tyre for the race whilst his fellow podium finishers both went with the medium option.

“It is nice to bring this era to a close on the podium and I think that is fitting,” said Stoner. “I have so many great memories of these past few years with Ducati, from my first win at Qatar in 2007 and that race in Barcelona the same year, to the title success at Motegi and my wins at Phillip Island. I also especially remember my return to action in Portugal last year.

“I have enjoyed every single victory on the Ducati so much and I want to thank them for so many great years together. I leave behind a lot of people that I will miss… but even though we will be rivals on the track from now on our personal relationship will stay the same. I also want to thank all the Ducati fans for their support over these past four years.”

A further four seconds back Rossi, who was also ending a chapter in his illustrious career with his final race for Yamaha after seven success-laden years, placed third having engaged in a great scrap with Lorenzo in the earlier stages of the race. The Italian also secured third in the final championship standings ahead of Stoner.

The fight for fourth was another great encounter in which Ben Spies came out on top as he rode his final race with Monster Yamaha Tech 3 before moving up the factory team. The American had been locked in a battle with Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) and Simoncelli to the end with the Italian pair completing the top six.

Dani Pedrosa (Honda) – who sealed runner-up spot in the championship with seventh – Héctor Barberá (Ducati), Álvaro Bautista (Suzuki) and Randy de Puniet (Honda) ended their 2010 seasons with top 10 finishes, with Aleix Espargaró (Ducati), Colin Edwards (Yamaha), Marco Melandri (Honda), Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda) and Carlos Checa (Ducati) completing the 15 finishers.

There was disappointment for Nicky Hayden (Ducati) who crashed out at the start having risen to second position, while Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) retired from the race with 17 laps remaining.

•    Valencia results and final standings

Lorenzo’s final points’ tally of 383 is also a new record for the most points scored in a single season in the MotoGP class. His win was also the first at Valencia for Yamaha in the 800cc era.

The Moto2 race was won by Karel Abraham (FTR), with Australia’s Anthony West (MZ) well back in 27th.