MotoGP™: Bagnaia wins Rossi’s swansong race at Valencia

The Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana, closing round of the 2021 MotoGPTM World Championship and final appearance of Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT), was won by Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team). Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) and Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) made it an all-Ducati podium as a sea of yellow-clad fans paid a last tribute to ‘The Doctor’. Michelin concluded the season in style by contributing to two more MotoGPTM records.  

The curtain fell on the 2021 campaign with a fourth win for Bagnaia who started the race in second place behind Martin before easing ahead on the 16th of the afternoon’s 27 laps. Helped by the grip and consistency of his hard and medium MICHELIN Power Slicks front and rear, the Italian not only established a new fastest race-lap record for the Spanish venue (1m31.042s) but also shaved six seconds off the circuit’s previous race-duration benchmark.

Pole-sitter Martin ended up second to complete the championship as the best-placed rookie, while Miller fought back from sixth to join his Ducati colleagues on the podium.

Joan Mir (Team SUZUKI ECSTA) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) rounded out the day’s top-five.

Unexpected rain forced the riders to fit MICHELIN Power Rains for Friday morning’s free practice, but the rest of the weekend was dry and the entire range of available MICHELIN Power Slicks was used over the three days. For the race, however, all the riders opted for the hard front and medium rear to cope with the hot weather which saw the air and track temperatures reach 24°C and 28°C respectively.

Rossi celebrated the end of his racing career on two wheels by finishing 10th. In total, the Italian superstar spent 14 seasons on Michelin rubber, claiming five world titles, 65 race wins, 124 podium finishes, 43 pole positions and 55 fastest race-laps in the process. Grazie, Vale!

The MotoGPTM circus will remain in Spain for two days of testing (Thursday and Friday) at Jerez in order to prepare for the 2022 world championship.