History Of MotoGP World Title Determination In Valencia's Final Series

Italian racer Francesco Bagnaia will try to defend the MotoGP world title at the Valencia GP (Instagram/@pecco63).

JAKARTA The 2023 MotoGP will be over soon this weekend. The last series of series of the most prestigious motorcycle races in the world will be held on November 24-26, 2023 at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, Valencia, Spain.

As in 2022, Valencia's MotoGP will be the final round to determine the world champion. Whether the title belongs to Francesco "Pecco" Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) or Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing Team).

The two riders currently sit in first and second place in the standings. The points of other riders are far behind them so it is impossible to compete.

Bagnaia and Martin will try to secure the remaining 37 points this season. For Bagnaia, he only needs to collect 16 points from that number so that the title does not move to Martin's hands.

If able to produce the total number from the sprint race and the main race, Bagnaia will come out as world champion. This scenario will invalidate Martin even if he wins the sprint race and the main race.

Currently, Bagnaia has a collection of 437 points or 21 points ahead of his rivals. If Bagnaia could add 16 points and Martin won the sprint race and the main race, then their points would be the same, namely 453.

In the same point position, Pecco will come out as the world champion because he is ahead for the number of wins in the main race. So far Pecco won six times, while Martin won four times.

With such a scenario, Pecco's chances of winning are quite large. Moreover, the situation was almost the same as he competed with French racer Fabio Quartararo last season.

This is the first time since the MotoGP era (starting 2002) that the MotoGP title-fixing race must be determined in the last series for two consecutive years.

Although this is the latest case, the race to determine the world title at the end of the season has often happened before. Here are some racing seasons that determine the title to occur in the last round:

Season 2006

At that time, the world title was contested by Italian racer Valentino Rossi and American racer Nicky Hayden. Rossi is still eight points ahead of Hayden on the night of the race.

However, the racer nicknamed The Doctor even lost his title by making a difference of five points because he fell. Rossi had time to get up and continue the race, but finished 13th.

Meanwhile, Hayden finished third and has the right to lift the title. He is behind Loris Capirossi in second place and Australian rider Troy Bayliss, in first place.

This is the only race Bayliss won in the MotoGP class. At that time he replaced Sete Gibernau on Desmosedici's motorbike belonging to the Ducati Marlboro factory team.

2013 Season

This year, competition to win the championship crown involves the Spanish duo, Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo. At that time, Marquez, who was a rookie, came with a 13-point lead over Lorenzo.

Lorenzo then won the Valencia Grand Prix, but that success was not enough to prevent Marquez from winning his first MotoGP title.

Marquez, who finished the race in third place, finally remained comfortable at the top of the standings with a four-point advantage over his compatriot.

Season 2015

This is one of the most memorable moments for MotoGP lovers. At that time, Valentino Rossi was present at the Valencia Grand Prix with a seven-point advantage over Jorge Lorenzo.

However, Rossi had to start the race from the last position due to the penalty he received after 'broking in Sepang' with Marc Marquez.

Lorenzo then won and locked the title. Meanwhile, Rossi finished fourth behind Dani Pedrosa (third) and Marc Marquez (second).

Season 2017

Six-time world champion Marc Marquez then arrived at Ricardo Tormo with a 21-point advantage over Andrea Dovizioso. During the race Marquez slipped at Turn 1 while trying to get past Johann Zarco.

However, this Spaniard won the title using the accident experienced by Dovizioso. It was one of Marquez's four consecutive titles between 2016 and 2019.

2022 Season

This is one of the spectacular seasons. Francesco Bagnaia arrived in the final series, Valencia, with a 23-point lead over Fabio Quartararo after successfully chasing 91 points behind.

At that time, what Bagnaia needed to win the world title was to finish in the top 14. The Italian then did better, namely through the finish line in ninth place.