MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo Wins Season Finale Valencia GP; Perfect Parting Gift For Yamaha

It was Jorge Lorenzo's last race with team Movistar Yamaha and the season finale of the 2016 MotoGP championship, and the rider managed to make each of those memorable winning the Valencia Grand Prix. The Spaniard held on to the lead after a fantastic start on the grid, fending off competition from this season's world champion Marc Marquez, while securing a win this season after June this year.

Sameer Contractor

1 min read

2016-11-14 03:40:39

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MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo Wins Season Finale Valencia GP; Parts With Yamaha

Key Highlights

Lorenzo led the race right from the start winning the season finale
Marc Marquez was crowned the 2016 MotoGP world champion at Motegi
The 2017 MotoGP will see riders switching to new teams

It was Jorge Lorenzo's last race with team Movistar Yamaha and the season finale of the 2016 MotoGP championship, and the rider managed to make each of those memorable winning the Valencia Grand Prix. The Spaniard held on to the lead after a fantastic start on the grid, fending off competition from this season's world champion Marc Marquez, while securing a win this season after June this year. The final race saw Andrea Iannone finish third despite an injury, while Valentino Rossi finished fourth. Jorge Lorenzo at the Valencia GP Having spent nine years with Yamaha, Lorenzo will be moving to Ducati next year. However, the Spaniard ensured that his parting gift for Yamaha was a memorable one. Having taken the pole in qualifying, Jorge had the lead right from the start and maintained his dominance til the end. Meanwhile, Ducati's Iannone closed in on Lorenzo, followed by Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez and Maverick Vinales. Rossi finished fourth in Valencia GP The end of Lap 5 saw Rossi overtake Iannone and was 2.5 seconds behind teammate Lorenzo, but the Ducati rider was unforgiving with his fantastic acceleration and managed to stick close to the Yamaha rider. The following laps saw a duel between both riders, with Marquez at their tail. The Repsol Honda rider, however, managed to overtake both and steered clear of the other riders as he clenched onto the second spot with 10 laps remaining. The gap between Marquez and Lorenzo now extended to 5.3 seconds, with Iannone in third place, while Rossi was fending off competition from Maverick Vinales. Marc Marquez Valencia MotoGP With a disappointing debut, KTM's Mika Kallio retired from the final race, after facing an electronics problem with 10 laps remaining. Nevertheless, KTM will be showing their chops on track in the 2017 season. Another non-finisher was Yonny Hernandez of Aspar Ducati after crashing early into the race. In addition, both Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Cal Crutchlow crashed out with the former going down in early stages at Turn 2 while the crashed in the following laps at Turn 14. Andrea Iannone will be moving to Suzuki next season While the 2016 MotoGP World Champion was decided three races ago, team Repsol Honda took the manufacturer's title, the team's 22nd win in the premier class. The 2016 season was certainly an exciting one with 9 different winners, making it an unpredictable year. The year also saw riders change teams for the 2017 season. Can't wait for the next season already? Let's start you with this, Lorenzo will be riding for Ducati, Iannone for Suzuki, while Vinales will be joining Rossi at Yamaha.