After 18 races, the 2011 MotoGP season has come to an end. Casey Stoner capped his second World Championship season with one final at Valencia. His win also marked his 16th podium, tying the all-time record for most podium finishes in a season.
Stoner said: "My heart was in my throat! We did such a good job all the race and then it started to rain heavily... 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. In the first half of the final lap he made a nice gap but I knew we were quick in the second half of the lap. 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, I've had it done to me in the past a few times but I've never done it to anyone else! I'm sorry for Ben, he rode a great race, a big thanks to my team for all their hard work this year."
Ben Spies ended the 2011 season with a fantastic second place finish behind Stoner.
Spies said: "The conditions were really tough today, with the rain it was so difficult to know how hard to push so I was just concentrating on bringing the bike home. We were able to
follow Dani and Dovi and get past them eventually and then get past Casey when he made a small mistake.
"When there's no rider in front of you, you don't have a judge on how slippery the track is so it's difficult to judge speed in that last lap. When we came out of the last corner I got the paint sucked off the bike by Casey as he went past! I'm happy enough; we made a huge charge at the end and finished well. Considering how the last month has gone it's a great way to end. We'll focus on the test now and aim to be up there and even more competitive next year. A huge thank you to Yamaha and my crew who made sure I had a great bike to ride today. This morning we all came out to make some noise and say goodbye to Marco, I'm pretty sure he heard us and I know he would have approved!"
Andrea Dovizioso took third place during the race to secure third place in the championship.
Dovi said: "I'm so happy with third place in the Championship, it's a great achievement born from a lot hard work throughout the year. Before arriving here I knew I only had a few opportunities to arrive in front of Dani, because he has been always so fast here. Dani was faster than me also in this race weekend so I had to make a good strategy to beat him. Considering that I had a soft front tyre, I knew I couldn't push hard for 30 laps, I tried to stop him when I was in front of him, then every time he overtook me, I tried to pass him immediately. It was a good battle and with the rain at coming with 7-8 laps to go, I wanted to push harder for the win because I'm good in these tricky conditions however, third position in the Championship was too important so I decided not to take any additional risks. Thanks to my team for these three years spent together, I'm very pleased to finish my career at Honda with third in the Championship, my best result so far in MotoGP. On the final lap I thought of Marco and in the end I succeeded here on a track where I have always struggled. Marco helped me in this challenging mission, Ciao Marco."
Cal Crutchlow: "That was a pretty dramatic way to finish the season and I am obviously thrilled to win the Rookie of the Year title. But I'm equally happy to have finished in fourth place because that was an incredibly difficult race. I'm not sure what happened at the first corner but I came out of it in sixth place and just pushed as hard as I could. It was a really intense battle with Karel right to the end and both of us were giving it everything we had. The track was so greasy it felt like you could crash so easily and when the rain started getting heavier I just got my head down again and kept pushing. I started to catch Dani really fast and I wasn't sure if he had a problem or whether I was pushing too hard. I slowed down because of that and Karel caught me back up, so it came down to the last lap and he obviously made a small mistake. He hit me from behind but I managed to stay on and to finish t he season with my best ever result is a great way to start planning for 2012. This year has been an incredible learning experience and we have a lot to work on for next season, but I feel confident I can make the step to the next level. I can hold my held up high and now I am looking forward to getting my first experience of the Yamaha 1000cc bike on Tuesday."
Dani Pedrosa:"It wasn't an easy race. I did my best, trying hard but I wasn't feeling good on the bike, I was rigid and didn't ride very well. But especially in the end with more water on the track I struggled a lot as in Australia, so this is something I will try to improve with my riding in the future. I had a good battle with Andrea and in the last laps I lost a place to Cal Crutchlow, but I couldn't do any more. Andrea and I were on a soft front tyre and we were maybe struggling a little more than Ben or Cal who were on a hard front, but it's not an excuse. I just want to move forward and think about next year and the test we have on Tuesday. It has been a tough year, but we will try to take the positives from here and be optimistic for the 2012."
Josh Hayes: "It was a very exciting and difficult race but certainly an experience I will never forget. I had a joke with my crew that I should have packed up at lunch after I was fastest in 
the warm-up! The conditions were really difficult with the rain but riding the Yamaha YZR-M1 with the carbon brakes and Bridgestone tyres was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it. The bike felt perfect each time I went out of the pits and it is a real bonus to finish inside the top 10. It i s not exactly how I wanted to do it with so many guys going down at the first corner but I am happy with my race and how I rode. It was a successful race for me and I managed to beat a lot of experienced riders, which is something to be proud of. Riding a MotoGP is definitely something I would like to do again in my career. I want to send a big thank you to everybody who helped me be here. Yamaha US, GYTR, YES and of course Hervé Poncharal gave me a great opportunity and everybody has been so nice to me. Hopefully people enjoyed seeing me out on track, because I definitely enjoyed being out there."
Loris Capirossi: "What can I say, now it's really finished. 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!"
Álvaro Bautista: "It has been a bad way to end the year, because before the race I was expecting to be fighting for the podium! In all conditions we had been fast this weekend and I thought we would have a good race today. In the first corner we all arrived together and I was between Andrea and Valentino. Unfortunately Andrea hit my front wheel with his rear tyre and I couldn't do anything to save the crash. The worst thing was that I hit three other riders and they crashed as well, I am sorry for them and also sorry for the team and all the fans. This year has been very tough, it didn't start very well when I broke my left femur and although we did a good job – especially in the middle of the season when I was totally fit, both mentally and physically - we haven't finished with that many good results. I got more and more confident in the bike as the season went on and the work we have done has been amazing, we have come such a long way. Thanks to Suzuki for all they have done and thanks to my team, they work 100% in all races and I think everybody has been able to see the improvement on the track. Thanks also to everybody that has supported me and Rizla Suzuki in 2011, and now we will have to see what happens for next year."
Randy De Puniet: "I'm angry, disappointed, and sorry. This has really been an unfortunate season. Bautista's fall caused my crash and three other crashes. I was convinced that I would've had a good race. I wanted to end this season in the best way possible. It was a pleasure to be Capirex's teammate in his final season."
Nicky Hayden: "I felt some riders coming up the inside really fast as we approached Turn 1. Then something happened and it was just the domino effect - race over in the first corner. I'm
okay other than my hand being pretty sore. It's unfortunate. One of our bike's strengths is generating heat in the tyres, and that's what you need on a cold, wet track like this. Already on the warm-up lap, the bike felt good. It's easy to say now, but I honestly feel like we could have put up a decent fight today and had some fun."
Valentino Rossi: "There's really nothing to say about today, other than that I'm sorry beyond measure not to have been able to put on Sic's T-shirt for the lap of honour. It's truly a shame. I started well and all the conditions were in our favour for having a nice race, but we were unfortunate and received no points here either. We finish the season tied with Sic, with him ahead of me in the standings. I guess that's my tribute to him!"
