MotoGP:Valencia (Part One) - A World Champion Is Crowned...

Well, this review brings together the end of two things: -

1) Coverage of MotoGP on the BBC; and
2) Reviews of the MotoGP on this blog

I'll get onto why in due course, but as it's my last one that I'll be doing, I wanted to make sure I pay proper tribute to the real heroes of the races so here we go...



For this one, Marc Marquez secured another pole position, pipping what looked to be a certain Jorge Lorenzo one by 0.34 of a second and I think the best of the rest went to Dani Pedrosa qualifying on the front row of the grid.

Much was made of the battle in 2006 at this circuit when Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden were battling it out for the top tier title. That day it was Nicky Hayden who had to come from behind to secure a championship and though it would be his only one since then, it would certainly be memorable because by all rights the championship should have been Rossi's until he dropped the bike going round a corner and thus ending his hopes of another championship.

This again brings me onto the other surprising piece of news that got the headlines; that Rossi was departing from his crew chief, Jeremy Burgess, after seven long years.

Now, differences of opinion were not cited as such being the cause and Burgess himself said that he knew he was not being called in to discuss the Christmas bonus on the Thursday before race weekend was due to start. Yet you cannot help but consider with the words coming from the Rossi camp that he 'wanted to tried different things to try and bring success back to the 46 camp', that there were some underlying reasons not down to one another's opinions of each other, just that they were keeping apparently professional about it all.

Is that the way to do it though? To your crew chief, mentor and great friend? I do not know, but from what the likes of Steve Parrish & Charlie Cox, it smacks that he (Rossi) was just being polite in what he said... just not the way it was done in my opinion.

But what's done is done now, so let's get on with the rest of the final race of the 2013 season.

This one was won in the end by some sublime riding from Lorenzo, even if he did get a touch physical with Dani Pedrosa as the two of them fought off the charge of Marc Marquez in the opening dozen or so laps. Between the three of them, the three amigos if you like, they swapped and swapped positions until the opening phase settled down into a steady rhythm of Lorenzo trying back, back, back the two of them up, Marquez in particular, into the pack behind. Once again, that pack was led by Rossi who was tussling with, as usual, Alvaro Bautista.

My own opinions of this race are that it will go down as one of the best of the 2013 because, for the first time in some years, the title fight had gone down to the last round. Though there were only two riders that could win it, Pedrosa's challenge effectively ending at Phillip Island (or some might say before that due to lack of race wins & consistency along with a good deal of inter-team rivalry with Marquez), Lorenzo had an advantage in that he'd come into this one winning more than Marquez, yet trailing him by only around 18 points.

This meant that a fifth placed finish or lower, for Marquez, would see the trophy stay with Lorenzo for another year...

Part two continues, after the jump===>>