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Lorenzo wins race and 2015 MotoGP title

Starting from pole, Lorenzo produced a faultless display to resist Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa and claim a lights to flag win.
3 min read8 Nov '15
Staff WriterStaff Writer
2K+ views

Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo soaked up late pressure from the Honda riders to win the Valencia Grand Prix and the 2015 MotoGP title, with championship rival Valentino Rossi a beaten fourth.

Starting from pole, Lorenzo produced a faultless display to resist Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa and claim a lights to flag win.

Rossi charged from the back row of the grid after his Sepang penalty to finish a distant fourth, missing out on a 10th world title by five points to his Yamaha team-mate.

Lorenzo converted pole into an early lead from Marquez, as a fired-up Rossi carved his way through the order, taking 19th into Turn 1 and ending the second lap in 11th.

As Lorenzo and Marquez attempted to break clear of Pedrosa in third, a fall for fourth-place runner Andrea Iannone promoted Rossi into ninth.

The Italian quickly dispatched Bradley Smith and Danilo Petrucci to take seventh, before setting off after Andrea Dovizioso and the Espargaro brothers.

Rossi muscled his way past the two brothers, before sweeping past Dovizioso's Ducati for fourth, where his charge stalled, 11s behind Pedrosa in third.

Unable to match the pace of the frontrunners, Rossi settled for fourth on the road, leaving the Hondas to fight race leader Lorenzo.

With Lorenzo battling tyre wear, the two Honda riders closed on him into the closing stages, with Pedrosa reeling in his team-mate and the Yamaha.

Pedrosa briefly passed Marquez for second, only to concede the position back to his team-mate, which offered Lorenzo the respite needed to cross the line and win.

Pol Espargaro ended his season with a fifth place finish, 3s clear of Tech 3 team-mate Smith and Dovizioso.

Aleix Espargaro was five seconds back, beating the charging Cal Crutchlow - the LCR Honda rider having started from the back after mechanical problems on the grid - and Petrucci to eighth.

Maverick Vinales rounded out his season with an 11th place finish for Suzuki, one spot ahead of Michele Pirro, riding a wildcard factory Ducati.

Nicky Hayden closed out his MotoGP career with a 17th place finish, while Hector Barbera claimed the Open class title ahead of his 2016 Avintia Ducati team-mate Loris Baz.

RESULTS - 30 LAPS:

Jorge LorenzoYamahaYamaha45m59.364s
2
Marc MarquezHondaHonda0.263s
3
Daniel PedrosaHondaHonda0.654s
4
Valentino RossiYamahaYamaha19.789s
5
Pol EspargaroTech 3Yamaha26.004s
6
Bradley SmithTech 3Yamaha28.835s
7
Andrea DoviziosoDucatiDucati28.886s
8
Aleix EspargaroSuzukiSuzuki34.222s
9
Cal CrutchlowLCRHonda35.924s
10
Danilo PetrucciPramac RacingDucati39.579s
11
Maverick VinalesSuzukiSuzuki39.746s
12
Michele PirroDucatiDucati47.053s
13
Yonny HernandezPramac RacingDucati54.081s
14
Alvaro BautistaAprilia GresiniAprilia56.646s
15
Scott ReddingMarc VDSHonda57.278s
16
Hector BarberaAvintia RacingDucati57.363s
17
Nicky HaydenAsparHonda58.742s
18
Stefan BradlAprilia GresiniAprilia59.086s
19
Loris BazForward RacingYamaha Forward1m04.339s
20
Toni EliasForward RacingYamaha Forward1m04.413s
21
Jack MillerLCRHonda1m05.212s
22
Anthony WestAB MotoracingHonda1m27.281s
-
Mike Di MeglioAvintia RacingDucatiRetirement
-
Eugene LavertyAsparHondaRetirement
-
Broc ParkesIodaRacing ProjectART/ApriliaRetirement
-
Andrea IannoneDucatiDucatiRetirement

FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:

Jorge Lorenzo330
2
Valentino Rossi325
3
Marc Marquez242
4
Daniel Pedrosa206
5
Andrea Iannone188
6
Bradley Smith181
7
Andrea Dovizioso162
8
Cal Crutchlow125
9
Pol Espargaro114
10
Danilo Petrucci113
11
Aleix Espargaro105
12
Maverick Vinales97
13
Scott Redding84
14
Yonny Hernandez56
15
Hector Barbera33
16
Alvaro Bautista31
17
Loris Baz28
18
Stefan Bradl17
19
Jack Miller17
20
Nicky Hayden16
21
Michele Pirro12
22
Eugene Laverty9
23
Katsuyuki Nakasuga8
24
Mike Di Meglio8
25
Hiroshi Aoyama5
26
Takumi Takahashi4
27
Toni Elias2
28
Alex de Angelis2

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