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Bagnaia Ends Ducati’s 15-Year Title Drought, Crowned 2022 MotoGP World Champion

Despite finishing ninth in the 2022 MotoGP season-finale at Valencia but it was enough for Francesco Bagnaia to claimed his maiden MotoGP crown.

Francesco Bagnaia is the 2022 MotoGP world champion.
Bagnaia became the first Italian to win the MotoGP on an Italian bike, 50 years after Giacomo Agostini on an MV Agusta in 1972.

It was a nerve-racking moment for the Ducati rider after an endless overtaking at the start of the race with championship contender, Fabio Quartararo saw his right aero winglet flew off which resulted to his GP22 struggling on the track.

Bagnaia went from chasing the front row to easily getting past by Brand Binder, Joan Mir, Miguel Olveira, Luca Marini and Enea Bastianini before settling for ninth to ensure the 2022 title belongs to him thus ending Ducati’s 15-year title drought since Casey Stoner in 2007.

“When I passed the finish line I just saw the pit board that said I was the world champion and from that moment everything was lighter, more nice and it was incredible.

“My emotion is incredible at this moment.

“It wasn’t easy because in the fight with Fabio I lost a winglet and from that moment everything was a nightmare.

“Lap by lap I was trying to ride a defensive line but it was very, very hard.

“It took so long to finish the race but I’m very proud of my team, myself and the work that we did which was incredible,” said Bagnaia.

Bagnaia’s achievement also marked the greatest comeback in MotoGP history, as the Italian was 91 points down midway through the season. Bagnaia also emerged as the first Italian to win the championship on an Italian bike, 50 years after Giacomo Agostini who did it on a MV Agusta.

“I was feeling this weight on my shoulders to give back this title to all my team, to the manufacturer, to Ducati, to Italy,” added Bagnaia.

Meanwhile, the final round in Valencia saw Alex Rins took his heartfelt win for Suzuki Ecstar who is exiting the championship at the end of the season. Rins is moving to LCR Honda next season, as the Hamamatsu factory team is officially saying goodbye to the championship, for good.

Brad Binder secured a solid second while Jorge Martin, who despite started pole, finished third.

MotoGP: Ducati Conquers Final Race, Rossi Says Goodbye To Illustrious Career

The 2021 MotoGP season ends with tons of emotion as the season concludes at Valencia.

Francesco Bagnaia puts in another sensational performance to lead a Ducati 1-2-3 while Valentino Rossi finishes tenth in his final MotoGP race.

Despite making history with Jorge Martin and Jack Miller for the first-ever all-Ducati MotoGP podium, Bagnaia’s only focus was on his mentor and big brother, Rossi.

“It was incredible! The only way possible to celebrate him was to win with this helmet, and to have Vale (Rossi) on the top of the podium with me made me so happy.

“This year, we have grown a lot. Next year I think we are ready to start the season fighting for the world championship.

“But now the only thing is to celebrate Vale, and I would like to be there with him in his garage already.

“Vale for us (academy riders) is a friend, a big brother, and he helps us a lot every time,” said Bagnaia.

Rossi concludes his 25 years career at the world championship with 372 races, 199 podiums, 89 wins and nine world titles.

It was a beautiful sight at the end of the race as the 42-year old rider was given a standing ovation by the crowd and was also congratulated by the entire grid.

While the attention was mainly on the Petronas Sepang Racing Team rider, KTM’s Danilo Petrucci also says his goodbye to MotoGP as he is confirmed to represent the Austrian team at next year Dakar Rally.

Meanwhile, Remy Gardner was crowned as the Moto2 World Champion despite finishing the race at tenth place.

Title contender and teammate, Raul Fernandez did his best to win the final race of the season however Gardner only needed a top 13 finish to secure the title.

Ujian Valencia Moto2, Moto3 2018: Usaha Zulfahmi Khairuddin dan Adam Norrodin Dibantutkan Oleh Cuaca

Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Sumber imej: MotoGP)

Ujian pra musim Moto2 dan Moto3 2018 telah berlangsung baru-baru ini di Valencia.
Ketiga-tiga hari ujian berkenaan telah dibantutkan oleh hujan yang telah menyebabkan litar menjadi sejuk.
Penunggang dari Malaysia, Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Moto2) dan Adam Norrodin (Moto3) meluangkan masa tersebut menyesuaikan diri dengan jentera masing-masing.

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2018 Moto2, Moto3 Valencia Test: Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Adam Norrodin Hampered by Weather

The 2018 Moto2 and Moto3 pre-season tests got underway at Valencia recently.
All three days were hampered by rain and subsequently cold track.
Malaysian riders Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Moto2) and Adam Norrodin (Moto3) spent time adapting to their machines.

Malaysian Moto3 and Moto2 riders found the going tough during their respective class’ pre-season tests.

The three-day test session held at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain saw rain and subsequent cold weather, hampering the quest for racking up more track time and faster laps.

Moto2

Returning rider, Zulfahmi Khairuddin, now riding for the SIC Racing Team saw his track time cut down just three 70-minute sessions and completing only 72 laps in total over three days.

There were nine sessions (three per day) for each class. In Moto2, the first day was a total washout. No riders went on track in Session 1. Sessions 2 and 3 saw only Dominique Aegerter riding for 12 and 14 laps, respectively.

The weather stayed more or less the same on the second day. Session 4 saw only five riders posting very few laps, with Isaac Vinalez completing the most number of laps at 20. The next closest riders Stefano Manzi and Jorge Navarro completed only 7 laps apiece.

All riders saw action in Session 5 and 6 but posted times slower than the normal pace.

Session 7 on Day Three was another washout and only Mattia Pasini went out riding, completing a token 4 laps. All riders rode in Sessions 8 and 9, however, just the days before, no one put in a large number of laps to be of true meaning.

Test sessions in good weather usually see riders completing many more laps as they work on setting up their bikes.

It was a learning experience for Zulfahmi as he adapts to the Kalex, having been roped in to replace Hafizh Syahrin at almost the 11^th hour.

“The first day was rain and the second day we did only a few laps to check the bike and get a feel for the bike,” said Zulfahmi.

Zulfahmi continued, “The hardest part for me is getting used to the tyres; we are now working on the engine braking to make me more comfortable to brake harder.”

Zulfahmi Khairuddin – Picture from MotoGP.com

Riders need time to adapt to the characteristics and limits of new tyres, especially when they make the switch from road-legal race compound tyres to full-on race tyres. Race tyres may provide more grip, but it remains as potential grip if the rider could not find the way to make them work i.e. keeping them in the optimal working range.

He remains optimistic and cheerful, however, “It’s fantastic to be going to Sepang next week because the weather is so much better than in Europe right now.”

Team Manager, Johan Stigefelt said, “This test was the first time riding the Moto2 bike for Fahmi; a week ago he didn’t know he would be here, so of course it’s quite nerve-wracking for him to have a complete new bike and new crew around him.”

Moto3

As with Moto2, the Petronas Sprinta Racing team’s riders Adam Norrodin and Ayumu Sasaki (from Japan) saw rain disrupting their plans. Only four riders completed a few laps throughout the day.

Day Two’s Session 4 in the morning saw only four riders completing 4 laps each; while 17 out of 24 riders went on track in Session 5.

All riders finally went on track in Session 6, which saw Sasaki posting the 11^th fastest time, while Adam was way back in 24^th.

Day Three was almost the same, having full participation in Session 8, only. The most lap completed was a measly 30.

Both riders crashed due to cold tyres and Adam injured a finger. “It’s been quite a frustrating first test with the weather being so cold! We couldn’t ride at all on the first day because of the rain and then even when it stopped it was too cold to get any real heat in the tyres,” he lamented.

About the last day, “Today it has been sunnier but still so cold, so when we went out I just concentrated on getting used to the bike again.”

“Today has been a better day,” said Sasaki, “it’s been a lot sunnier but still very cold.”

Both teams will head home to the Sepang International Circuit for private testing from

Jorge Lorenzo finished the 2016 MotoGP season with signature win

2016 MotoGP season ends on a high for Lorenzo and Yamaha in Valencia.

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MotoGP: Lorenzo and Kent clinches titles in Valencia finale

The much-awaited 2015 MotoGP finale concluded on a high note last weekend in Valencia, Spain. With the World Moto2 championship title already decided a few races earlier, the weekend saw both the World Moto3 and MotoGP titles being contested.

Firstly, the weekend’s Moto2 class saw injured outgoing champion Esteve ‘Tito’ Rabat returning to the grid for his final outing in the middle class. Though this year’s Moto2 champion’s title was already claimed by Frenchman Johann Zarco, this did little in impeding Spaniard Rabat from putting on a stellar performance in front of his home crowd.

Putting his recent injury behind him, Tito was able to clinch his final Moto2 race win after a thrilling and drama-filled race that was red-flagged in the opening laps following a multi-bike pile up in Turn 2. The race re-started and ran for 18 laps, with Rabat putting on a masterclass to clinch victory ahead of compatriot Alex Rins in second and Swiss rider Thomas Luthi in third.

Rabat ends the 2015 Moto2 season ranking in third overall after collecting 231 points before moving up into the MotoGP class next year. Ahead of him in second is Rins who collected 234 points whilst champion Zarco leads the standings with a comfortable lead after collecting a total of 352 points.

In the Moto3 class, the title would be decided down to the wire. All British rider Danny Kent needed to do was to score two points to secure the title. If Kent failed to do so, then title rival Miguel Oliveira would clinch the title if he scored the full 25 points from winning the race.

Portugal native Oliveira put on a stellar display of his race craft by winning the race, but alas, Kent’s ninth place finish was enough to see him crowned as the 2015 World Moto3 Champion. Kent has gone into the record books as the first British rider to win a world title in any of the three classes since the legendary Barry Sheene who last won the 500cc title in 1977.

Just six points separated Kent’s score 260 points against Oliveira’s haul of 254 points whilst Italian Enea Bastianini ranks third with 207 points.

Of course, all eyes were on the weekend’s much talked about premier MotoGP class finale race. Following the controversial Sepang Clash with Marc Marquez, championship leader Valentino Rossi had to start from the back of the grid with the slimmest of margins ahead of teammate and rival Jorge Lorenzo.

Nevertheless, the sold-out crowd in Valencia witnessed perhaps one of the finest moments from the living Italian riding legend as he picked off the grid one by one, lap by lap. Rossi could only settle with a fourth place finish by the day’s end, but it was clear he was the people’s champion thanks to his unrivalled race performance.

The weekend undoubtedly belonged to home hero Jorge Lorenzo. Astride the number 99 Yamaha, Lorenzo already had the advantage by starting in pole position ahead of the Honda duo of Marquez and Dani Pedrosa in second and third respectively. All Lorenzo had to do was defend himself from both his Honda-powered compatriots to claim victory and the title.

Despite a late-stage charge from both Marquez and Pedrosa, Lorenzo’s lead remained unchallenged all race long. With Rossi settling for fourth position, Lorenzo took his third MotoGP title in his career with the race win in front of his home crowd.

Just five points separated Lorenzo in first with 330 points from Rossi in second with his score of 325 points. Ousted world champion Marc Marquez, on the other hand ends the season in third with his haul of 242 points ahead of teammate Dani Pedrosa in fourth with his total haul of 206 points.

Though his tenth world title slipped away from him, Rossi remained upbeat and confident with his result. Surely, his stellar race performance has silenced both critics and doubters on whether he was deserving of the title following the incident in Sepang that has marred what has been a stellar year for the Italian.