Jorge Lorenzo was crowned the MotoGP world champion for a third time after winning the 2015 season finale in Valencia on Sunday. Valentino Rossi finished fourth in the race to take the runner up spot in the standings.
With Rossi starting from the back of the grid, it was always going to be advantage Lorenzo at his home turf. But the Spaniard was made to work by the Honda pairing of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa. The two riders breathed down his neck for the last few laps, but Lorenzo managed to hold on to the lead to take his seventh win of the season.
Rossi, on his part, did all he could to make up for the grid penalty. The Italian dispatched several riders with a quick getaway, and continued to gain positions with every lap.
However, by the time he overtook Andrea Dovizioso for fourth position, the top three runners had escaped into the distance. With an unassailable 10+ second deficit, Rossi had not option but to to rely on the Honda riders to take a record 10 title.
But as it turned out, neither of the two Repsol-liveried bikes managed to pass a resilient Lorenzo, who went on to clinch his first MotoGP title since 2012.
Meanwhile, Pol Espargaro beat Bradley Smith to finish as the highest satellite rider, while Andrea Dovizioso finished seventh for Ducati. Aleix Espargaro slipped to eighth place at the chequered flag, after running as high as fifth in the early stages of the race. Danilo Petrucci rounded off the top 10.
MotoGP Valencia - Results (Top 10)
- Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha)
- Marc Marquez (Honda) +0.263
- Dani Pedrosa (Honda) +0.654
- Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) +19.789
- Pol Espargaro (Tech 3) +26.004
- Bradley Smith (Tech 3) +28.835
- Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) +28.886
- Aleix Espargaro (Suzuki) +34.222
- Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) +35.924
- Danilo Petrucci (Pramac) +39.579
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