2022 bows out in Valencia
The longest MotoGP World Championship, and one of the most tumultuous for the Repsol Honda Team, has just a race left. Valencia the scene for a final goodbye to Pol Espargaro.
As is tradition, the Circuit Ricardo Tormo will host the final round of the MotoGP World Championship. A world apart from the hot and humid Sepang International Circuit with its two long straights, the Spanish circuit is characterised by an incredibly tight layout and often cooler conditions. With a difficult weekend in Sepang behind them, the Repsol Honda Team are hoping the change in circumstances will better suit the 2022 Honda RC213V to end the season on a positive note.
Pol Espargaro has classically gone well at Valencia, scoring his first premier class podium at the track in dramatic fashion in 2018. It will be an emotional weekend for the #44 and the Repsol Honda Team as they line up together for the final time. 2022 started in fine form for the combination with Espargaro looking strong and confident during pre-season testing and battling for victory in Qatar. Valencia offers a final chance to recapture this early year form.
Espargaro’s time with the Repsol Honda Team saw him take a pole position and two podiums, including his best premier class result to date – a second place finish at the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Marc Marquez lines up for the final race of the year with improvements and data on his mind. The flyaways produced a variety of emotions and results and the #93 is keen to maximize the final race weekend of the year. Marquez last raced in Valencia in 2019 when he claimed victory to top off a record-breaking season, scoring 420 points from 19 races. This is one of six premier class podium finishes that Marquez has achieved in Valencia. As important as the race weekend will be the post-season test on Tuesday. Now just a single day, Marquez and the Repsol Honda Team will use all the available time to define the final details for their 2023 preparations.
Pol Espargaro
“It is going to be an emotional weekend, my last one with the Repsol Honda Team. I want to thank everyone inside HRC, Repsol and the team for these two years. Together we have lived through some incredible moments and fought to overcome the hard times. Valencia is a circuit I really enjoy, we didn’t have any luck there last year but I want to say good bye to everyone with a strong weekend. Let’s just enjoy this last race and focus on the positives that we achieved together. Thanks everyone.”
Marc Marquez
“The last race in a long and very different kind of year. We’ve been learning every weekend since we came back and that’s the objective again for this race. I think Valencia will suit our bike better than in Sepang, so hopefully we can be closer to the front. It’s a track where I have had good results here in the past and you get some close races because of the layout. No matter what I think it will be an exciting weekend for the fans with both the Moto2 and MotoGP titles on the line.”
Location Information
The Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana was completed in 1999 and held rounds of the MotoGP and Spanish Motorcycle Championships in the same year. The Cheste track has several layouts, running anti-clockwise with varying lengths. MotoGP events are held on a 4km track comprising of five right handed corners, eight… read more.
| Length | 4.005 kilometres / 2.489 miles |
| Width | 12 metres |
| Left corners | 9 |
| Right corners | 5 |
| Longest straight | 0.876 kilometres / 0.544 miles |
| Constructed | 1999 |
Circuito de la Comunidad Valenciana Ricardo Tormo, Cheste, Spain - View in Google Maps
Records
| Pole Position | 1m 28.931s (162.1km/h) Maverick Viñales (Aprilia, 2023) |
| Race Lap | 1m 30.145s (159.9km/h) Brad Binder (KTM, 2023) |
| 2023 Race Winner | Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) |
| 2023 Sprint Winner | Jorge Martin (Ducati) |
