2009 Valencia MotoGP preview
05-11-09 by Bracksy
It’s been a long season but the 2009 MotoGP World Championship reaches its exciting finale at the Ricardo Tormo circuit for the GP of Valencia this weekend and it promises to be a cracker.
The crown may have gone to Valentino Rossi two weeks ago in Malaysia but there is still plenty to play for at what is traditionally a fantastic weekend. Valencia is a great place to watch racing (and a few other things) as it is like an amphitheatre where spectators can see every part of the track, no matter where they are seated.
There won’t be an empty seat as there are plenty of scenarios that could unfold and it also doubles as one of the last fiestas of the year before the winter sets in so the locals go to great pains to make sure they enjoy themselves.
The main focus will be on Casey Stoner to see if he can make it three in a row since his comeback but in downtown Valencia the main focus will be on the battle of the Spaniards, Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo with Italian Rossi also keen to end the season in dominant form. Keep in mind that the Doctor hasn’t won in Valencia since 2004 so he will be keen to correct that aberration.
Another attraction that will create plenty of interest will be on the appearance of the recently crowned Superbike World Champion, Ben Spies who will be returning to the MotoGP grid after a few wild card rides in 2008 but this time on a Yamaha. He will be in a standalone team with as he brings his Sterilgarda team with him in his wild card ride. He knows the circuit and a GP bike so he will not have a steep learning curve. The day after the race he will jump on the Tech 3 Yamaha.
The last champion to race in both championships was Troy Bayliss. Who could forget his performance in 2006 when he brought his team with him to the MotoGP paddock to win the race from his team mate Loris Capirossi as Rossi crashed out to confirm Nicky Hayden as the last 990cc World Champion?
It will be a monumental – and miraculous – effort for Spies to replicate Bayliss’ effort this weekend but he will be expected to do reasonably well and no doubt he will be the centre of attention for most of the media for the weekend.
It will be interesting to see if there is any on-track shenanigans between Spies and the man he replaces in the Tech 3 team James Toseland. The pair is in fact doing a clean swap with Toseland stepping across to Superbikes on Spies’ old bike which he has already ridden at Portimao last week.
“I’m really excited for the opportunity to race at Valencia this weekend,” said Spies. “I’m fully aware that MotoGP is a big step up from World Superbike and realize it’s not going to be possible to achieve the same results in my first year there. I see this weekend as an opportunity to spend some time on the bike and start learning it for next season, and to have some fun as well!”
The final top four places are pretty well sorted although Pedrosa has a mathematical chance of retaking third position from Stoner and Pedrosa have been 1-2 for the past two years swapping the wins so they must go in as race favourites.
The battle from fifth in the championship between Edwards and Dovizioso will go to the flag but the most intriguing battle of all will be the contest for seventh h place in the championship as only seven points separates six riders – an increase of a point since Malaysia. Melandri and Capirossi are on equal points (108) with Tony Elias and Alex De Angelis (San Carlo Honda) and Chris Vermeulen all just three points in arrears (105) with Randy De Puniet on 101 points guaranteeing a no-holds barred stoush around the tight and technical Valencia layout.
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Tags: 2009 Valencia MotoGP, Ben Spies, Valencia
