Lorenzo wins Valencia Grand Prix to clinch third MotoGP crown

Jorge Lorenzo is the 2015 MotoGP World Champion after the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider led from start to finish and rode at record pace to secure victory ahead of the Repsol Honda Team duo of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa who finished in second and third place respectively.
 
Starting on pole position after setting a new outright Valencia lap record in qualifying, Lorenzo got the holeshot to lead into the first corner and led the entirety of the thirty-lap race – setting a new Circuit Record Lap of 1’31.367 along the way. However, the race was by no means an easy contest as Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez pushed Lorenzo the whole way, with his teammate Dani Pedrosa also making a late push for victory. At the checkered flag though it was Lorenzo who would take his seventh victory, 0.263 seconds ahead of Marquez. The frantic pace the three riders that finished on the podium resulted in a new race time record being set at the Ricardo Tormo circuit of 45’59.364; almost eleven seconds quicker than the previous record time.
 
The final race of the year took place in warm and dry conditions, with slightly cooler track temperatures than those experienced yesterday with a peak of 30°C recorded at the start of the race. As there was no significant change in the conditions compared to the earlier sessions, tire choice for the race resembled that from Free Practice 4 yesterday with the medium compound rear, soft compound front pairing being the most popular combination. Twenty-three riders selected the soft compound front slick, with the remaining three riders opting for the asymmetric front slick option. Sixteen riders selected the medium compound rear slick for the race, with ten riders instead selecting the soft compound rear slick.
 
Lorenzo’s Valencia victory sees him finish the 2015 MotoGP season on 330 points, five points ahead of his teammate Valentino Rossi who finished in fourth place today, and second in the championship standings after a valiant effort from the back of the grid. Marquez ends the season in third place in the championship standings on 242 points having taken five wins.
 
Hiroshi Yamada – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department
“Congratulations to Jorge on winning his third MotoGP championship and fifth in all classes. It was a dominant performance from Jorge, leading from start to finish and riding at a record pace along the way. I’d also like to congratulate Valentino on his effort to finish in fourth place and for giving everything he could to fight for the championship right until the very end. It has been a fantastic season with record crowds, close racing and many memorable moments and everyone at Bridgestone is proud to have been involved in this special championship. For the whole time during our role as Official tire Supplier to MotoGP we’ve pushed the boundaries in terms of technical development and I am happy that our efforts have helped make this MotoGP season reach new heights in terms of rider performance and safety. I would like to thank the manufacturers, teams, Dorna, IRTA, the FIM and all MotoGP fans for your support over the last fourteen years.”
 
Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tire Development Department
“The tire choice the riders made for the race was as we expected, with the soft compound front and medium compound rear slick proving to be the most popular combination. The pace was extremely quick throughout the race, with the top three riders ending the race well under the previous race time record, which was an indication of the excellent durability and predictable behavior of our tires. Overall, I am very happy with how our tires performed at Valencia in what was our last MotoGP outing, with a new Circuit Best Lap record, Circuit Record Lap and total race time records being set. We now will shift our focus to continuing to offer all that we have learnt on the MotoGP circuits to riders around the world through our range of BATTLAX motorcycle tires.”
 
Jorge Lorenzo, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Race Winner and 2015 MotoGP World Champion
“There was a lot of pressure during this race, so I just focused on going as fast as possible even though the bike was sliding around and moving a lot. Now I am five-times world champion, and all of us together did an unbelievable job. Yamaha made an unbelievable bike and my team this year were perfect and I am very proud to have won this world title for Spain.”