With just 12 points separating Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo in their battle for second in the championship, the Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo Circuit sets the scene for an intense battle on Sunday. However, the teammates won’t only be battling for their own glory: also the Team Title is still up for grabs for Movistar Yamaha MotoGP.
After three successful weekends overseas Valentino Rossi arrives in Spain with the intention to defend his second place in the championship by claiming another podium finish. The very experienced nine-time world champion has taken two premier class wins at Valencia in 2003 and 2004 and claimed multiple other podiums there, with a second place in 2002 and 2009 and third places in 2005, 2008 and 2010. Having won a phenomenal race at the Valencia track last year, teammate Lorenzo arrives in his home country with confidence. He looks forward to the support of the passionate Spanish crowd as he aims to finish the season with another thrilling battle for victory. So far Lorenzo has claimed two premier class victories at this circuit in 2010 and 2013 and a third place podium position in 2009.
The final showdown at the Ricardo Tormo circuit is always enjoyable for the riders, thanks to its unique atmosphere. Valencia became the traditional closing stage of the MotoGP calendar in 2002 and is known to draw record crowds.
Its layout ensures all parts of the circuit can be seen from every stand, so fans won’t miss any of the final racing action. Completed in 1999, the 4.005 m MotoGP track is run anti-clockwise, with five right and eight left hand corners and a 650 meters straight.
Valentino Rossi
championship: 2nd / 275 points
“It won’t be an easy race! I’m second in the championship and being 12 points ahead is good, but this gap is not sufficient enough to play a passive role this weekend. Jorge is in a good moment. During the second part of the season Jorge was very fast and he wants to win in Spain and try to take the second place from me. We must focus on finishing the season with a victory just like we aim to do at all races! My team and I will do our best, as usual. Valencia isn’t one of my favorite tracks, but that doesn’t bother me. In this season we were strong also in the tracks that aren’t favorable to me. The three races in a row went well, I won another race, and for this reason I think that we can do a good race in Valencia! I am confident!”
Jorge Lorenzo
championship: 3rd / 263 points
“Finally we face the last race of the championship and it’s always exciting to come back to Spain to close the season. We have already saved third position in the championship after the race in Sepang and I hope to fight for the win again in Valencia. I think this is a better track for our Yamaha M1 than Sepang.
I won here last year and hopefully we get to try this again this year. The second position of the championship is still a possibility, but I need to get the victory and wait to see what Valentino’s result will be like. I would like to close the championship in a better way than I started it, especially in front of the big crowd that always visits us in Valencia!”
