Casey Stoner ended the 800cc MotoGP era with a victory today during an exciting race at Valencia. Stoner, who wrapped up the MotoGP Championship last month, beat out Ben Spies by .015 seconds for the win.
Stoner held the lead coming into the final laps, but when he accidentally threw the bike into neutral instead of first gear, he gave up the lead to Spies.
"My heart was in my throat," Stoner said. "Coming onto the back straight I made a slight mistake when I went into neutral instead of first gear and Ben came past me. I tried to stay with him but he was riding very well, fast and smooth and he looked confident in the conditions, more so than me. I thought to myself, we haven't been able to take any risks all season, this is the time to take one and see what we can do. I knew I had a better exit line out of the final turn and I kept my head down and went for the line. It's amazing to win this on the finish line."
Andrea Dovizioso was able to claim the final spot on the podium today to secure the third place position in the championship. Dovizioso was followed by Cal Crutchlow and Dani Pedrosa.
"I'm so happy with third place in the Championship," Dovizioso said. "It's a great achievement born from a lot hard work throughout the year."
Katsuyuki Nakasuga, who was filling in for Jorge Lorenzo for the Yamaha team, took sixth place ahead of American Josh Hayes, who claimed an impressive 7th on his MotoGP debut.
Loris Capirossi claimed ninth in his final MotoGP race of his career, behind Karel Abraham and ahead of Toni Elias.
"What can I say, now it's really finished," Capirossi said. "The race was complicated by the rain, and in the last laps I couldn't push because I risked crashing. I wanted to end my career in a good way honoring Marco. I gave my best. Thanks to all the people that have supported me. Now I'm retired."
