{"id":577,"date":"2016-11-17T11:00:02","date_gmt":"2016-11-17T16:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonmotorsport.com\/?p=577"},"modified":"2022-06-16T15:16:36","modified_gmt":"2022-06-16T19:16:36","slug":"2016-motogp-season-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2016\/11\/17\/2016-motogp-season-style\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2016 MotoGP Season Signs Off in Style"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the Moto3<\/strong>, Moto2<\/strong>, and MotoGP<\/strong> championships wrapped up earlier than expected, the fans will be disappointed to learn that there will be no final race showdown in Valencia this weekend. However, they\u00a0can take comfort in the fact that the riders will be as motivated as ever.<\/p>\n

Valencia will be the last race for Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo<\/strong> on board the Yamaha<\/strong>.\u00a0Also,\u00a0Italian rider Andrea Iannone<\/strong>\u2019s final race for Ducati<\/strong>, and Spain\u2019s Maverick Vinales<\/strong> will be riding the Suzuki for the final time. Lorenzo will replace Iannone, Vinales will take Lorenzo\u2019s vacated seat, and Iannone will take over Vinales\u2019 seat at Suzuki. Moto2 will say goodbye to newly crowned French rider Johann Zarco<\/strong>. Also,\u00a0German rider Jonas Folger<\/strong>, British rider Sam Lowes<\/strong>, and Spanish rider Alex Rins<\/strong>. Graduating from Moto3 will be Italian rider Francesco Bagnaia<\/strong>, South Africa\u2019s Brad Binder<\/strong>, and Italian rider Enea Bastianini<\/strong>. At the end of the 2016 MotoGP season, et\u2019s not go too far into the future. Back to the present we go.<\/p>\n

The 2016 MotoGP Season Signs Off in Style<\/h2>\n

The Circuit:<\/h3>\n

The Autodromo Ricardo Tormo Circuit<\/strong> is an anti-clockwise circuit. The bike races down the long straight and brakes hard for the first left hand turn. A number of riders have been caught out at this tricky turn and crucial errors at this corner have decided races. Accelerating out of Turn One we have another short straight and hard on the anchors for the hairpin at Turn Two. Getting a good exit is imperative here for the rider and he heads into Turn Three, a slight kink and on the brakes again for the first right-hander, which leads into another right-hander at Turn Four and Turn Five.<\/p>\n

Hard on the brakes for the Left handed Turn Six\u00a0and entering a sequence of corners at Turns Seven, Eight,\u00a0and Nine. The rider then meets a nearly 90 degree right-handed turn at Turn 10 and a small right hand kink at Turn 11 before flicking it left for the long Turn 12 and hard on the brakes in the middle of the corner at Turn 13. This corner has decided a number of races. Fun Fact:<\/strong> Back in 2012 Maverick Vinales dived down the inside of Alex Rins and Enea Bastianini to win the race and the championship at that final corner.<\/p>\n

Moto3:<\/h3>\n

Spanish rider Aron Canet<\/strong> qualified on pole position, flanked by South Africa\u2019s Binder and Japan\u2019s Hiroki Ono<\/strong>. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, it was heartbreak when the bike stalled on the grid, moments before the lights went out. This meant that the youngster had to start from the pit lane. Binder and Ono were promoted and the new rider on the front row was Italy\u2019s Nicolo Bulega<\/strong>. As the race began, Bulega and Ono struggled off the line and soon dropped down the order to finish 17th<\/sup> and 21st<\/sup> respectively. Argentinian rider Gabriel Rodrigo<\/strong> had a huge high side and Italian rider Francesco \u2018Pecco\u2019 Bagnaia<\/strong> was the innocent victim of the resulting accident.<\/p>\n

After running pretty high up the order, Italy\u2019s Lorenzo Dalla Porta<\/strong> and Spain\u2019s Marcos Ramirez<\/strong> dropped into the gravel. Binder seized a dominant victory with Spanish rider Joan Mir<\/strong> in P2 and Italian rider Andrea Migno<\/strong> in P3.<\/p>\n

Other Points Finishers<\/h4>\n