Jorge Lorenzo ended his title-winning season on a high as he picked up a ninth win of the year in Valencia
Jorge Lorenzo ended his title-winning season on a high as he picked up a ninth win of the year in Valencia.
The Spaniard, who won his first MotoGP title last month, saw off the challenges of Australian Casey Stoner and Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi, taking the win from Stoner by 4.576 seconds.
It was so nearly not a victorious ending for Lorenzo after he almost collided with Marco Simoncelli in the early stages, with the 23-year-old doing well to avoid a race-ending incident.
Honda's Dani Pedrosa finished in seventh to seal the runner-up spot for the season, with Rossi in third overall.
Lorenzo's win also means he finishes the season with a 383-point haul, a record for the most points scored in a single season. "Coming here to Valencia, I really wanted to win one more time in this fantastic season, in front of my home fans," Lorenzo said.
"In the practices I was fast all weekend, but it seemed like Casey was even faster. I made a good start today but in the second corner trying to pass Casey I got overtaken by three or four riders, then I had a hard fight with Simoncelli when I nearly fell.
"I kept calm after that and concentrated and then lap by lap I recovered. I had a wonderful fight with Casey at the end."
