Valencia MotoGP 2019: Marc Marquez wins

Marc Marquez capped off his sixth title-winning MotoGP season with a dominant victory in the Valencia Grand Prix to secure the 2019 team title for the Repsol Honda squad. Petronas SRT Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo led for the first seven laps before being passed by a recovering Marquez and was unable to mount a challenge to retake the position over the remaining tours.

Poleman Quartararo had run side by side with Pramac's Jack Miller on the run to the first corner at the start but had to concede the lead to the Rocketship Ducati. He quickly disposed of Miller after a couple of corners and began to build up a small lead, while Marquez had to fight through from sixth after getting hung out at the first turn from second on the grid. Quartararo held a margin of seven-tenths of a second by the third lap, with Marquez soon up to second after snatching second from Miller at the final corner at the end of the previous tour.

The Honda rider slashed Quartararo's lead by a couple of tenths over the next three laps and made his decisive move on the eighth tour of the 27-lap race at the Turn 11 left-hander - squeezing Quartararo out to the edge of the circuit on the exit. Marquez immediately got his lead up to six tenths, though Quartararo was able to ensure this remained stagnant for a handful of laps. Then with nine laps to go, Marquez moved a second out of reach for the first time and would ease across the line for his 12th win of the year by over 1.5s.

Quartararo came under some threat from Miller after he was passed by Marquez on lap eight but was able to quash the Pramac rider's challenge and ended a sensational rookie season with his seventh podium. Miller's attention was soon turned to fending off Ducati stablemate Andrea Dovizioso for the final podium spot. He did so successfully and cruised to a fifth podium of the year ahead of Dovizioso and the Suzuki of Alex Rins.

Maverick Vinales' expected challenge for the victory never materialized, and he was consigned to sixth on the works Yamaha ahead of Joan Mir (Suzuki), his team-mate Valentino Rossi, and the Espargaro brothers - Aleix Aprilia ahead of KTM-mounted Pol. Jorge Lorenzo ended his career in MotoGP with his best result since June's Italian GP on 13th.

Valencia won Copa Del Rey 2019

By the end here in Seville they could take it no more, but the suffering was worth it and they made it. Somewhere in the madness a whistle blew and Valencia became Copa Del Rey winners. For the first time in 1456 days, Barcelona are not the cup winners.

There will be consequences at the Camp Nou, changes. Lionel Messi’s second-half goal was not enough to cancel out strikes from Kevin Gameiro and Rodrigo Moreno and a league title is not enough for a club like this. For Valencia, the cup is certainly enough. There was wild celebration; this was the culmination of a centenary year that for so long had been one to endure, but it ended in elation. What an occasion this turned out to be: on a knife edge, nerves shredded all around this stadium.

As the final minutes slipped by and players fell, exhaustion gripping everyone; the tension was unbearable with Barcelona throwing everything at Valencia. So much so that their goalkeeper, Jasper Cillessen, who had gone up for the last corner, was among those running back when Gonçalo Guedes ran through all alone.

It was the second time it had happened, players, staff and coaches leaving the bench convinced that this was the moment. It was not – Guedes shot wide of the open goal – but eventually it was over. Halfway through this season Valencia were only four points off the relegation zone and their manager, Marcelino García Toral, was under pressure. But the players backed him, the club’s director general too, and patience paid off. They clinched a Champions League place on the final day and now they are the cup winners too.

Valencia MotoGP 2018: Andrea Dovizioso wins

A smashing and crash ridden finale to the 2018 MotoGP season, Ducati Andrea Dovizioso won the Valencia Grand Prix turning out to be one of the few riders to actually complete the very wet race.

The rain drenched track made for a spectacle at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, as the top riders were pulled out of contention after back-to-back crashes. The race was even stopped at half-point bringing with the red flag out, only to be started again for a 14 lap stint. Dovizioso ended the season just like he started it - with a win. However, the race was a game changed for KTM, which saw rider Pol Espargaro take his and the team's first ever podium in the sport. Suzuki's Alex Rins took his fifth podium of the season, finishing behind Dovizioso.

The Valencia GP started out wet but was drying when the race begun. However, it wasn't long before the clouds were back over the circuit and the track was soaked again. Yamaha's Maverick Vinales started on pole in a surprise qualifying session, but couldn't hold on to the lead for long as Rins and Dovi were quick to pass the rider on Turn 2 of the opening lap. Rins took the lead and was a good 2 seconds clear of Dovi. The next few laps saw Rins extend his gap further to 4 seconds.

Bringing an end to a legendary career, Honda's Dani Pedrosa completed his final MotoGP race in fifth place, ahead of Honda rider Takaaki Nakagami. Tech3 Yamaha's Johann Zarco and KTM's Smith finished at P7 and P8. Tech3's rookie rider Hafizh Syahrin finished tenth behind Stefan Bradl, who was standing in for LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow. Aprilia's Scott Redding finished 11th, ahead of Ducati's Jorge Lorenzo and a damaged Yamaha ridden by Rossi. Bautista, who also crashed, re-mounted to finish 16th, behind Angel Nieto's Karel Abraham, who moves back to WSBK next year and Jordi Torres.

MotoGP 2017: Marc Marquez wins Fourth Title

Marc Marquez won his fourth MotoGP title after challenger Andrea Dovizioso crashed during the season concluding Valencia Grand Prix. Marquez only needed to finish in 11th place or better to seal the title. Starting from pole, the Spaniard steered his Honda to a third-place finish behind race winner Dani Pedrosa.

Marquez had started the race from pole position and led after the start before being passed by Zarco on lap three. He stayed behind the Frenchman until the latter stages before suffering a scare when Marquez passed Zarco to re-take the lead only to go off the track at turn one on lap 23. However, Marquez skillfully managed to stay on his bike and rejoined in fifth behind Spaniard Lorenzo and Italian Dovizioso, who both crashed out to promote him to third.

Dovizioso was the sole rider who could challenge Marquez. His only hope of tipping Marquez for the title was to win the race and see Marquez finish 12th or worse. Instead, the Italian wiped out with six laps remaining. Moments before Dovizioso lost control of his Ducati, Marquez had a scare when he barely managed to keep his bike up and on course for the championship.

Marquez shared the victory with his fans at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo where he cemented his reputation as the top talent in motorbike racing. At 24, Marquez has won four of the last five titles in the top category, to go with two titles he had previously won in the lower classes. Pedrosa, another Honda rider, overtook Johann Zarco late in the race. In Moto2, Miguel Oliviera won ahead of champion Franco Morbidelli. In Moto3, pole-sitter Jorge Martin won the race ahead of champion Joan Mir. It was Martin's first race victory.