After 17 rounds of epic two-wheeled racing, the 2015 MotoGP championship has come down to a final clash of the titans to decide who will be crowned champion.
The delicately poised championship heads to Valencia in Spain, and the Ricardo Tormo circuit.
Seven points are all that separates the leader in the standings Valentino Rossi from his factory Yamaha teammate in Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo.
For The Doctor, it is a chance to finally equal Italian motorcycle legend Giacomo Agostini, with eight premier class titles and ten overall. For Lorenzo, the opportunity is there to clinch three premier class crowns and a fifth overall.
The 36 year-old Italian kicked off the season with two victories in the first three races abroad and since then, hasn’t surrendered the lead of the championship.
Lorenzo meanwhile has won more races than his teammate, a dominant six to Rossi’s four. However it’s been the latter’s consistency to finish on the podium at every race bar two, which has kept the wily old Doctor ahead.
We already know that Rossi will start from the rear of the grid for the grand finale.
This was as a result of his sanctions handed down post-Malaysia, where he had the controversial clash with Honda rider Marc Márquez – which has been duly and ostensibly documented by many on The Roar, hence no need to detail it further here.
All that can be digressed is that it was a saga that was unnecessarily fuelled by Rossi pre-race, with his personal attack on the dual-world champion.
Nevertheless, with Rossi relegated to the rear of the grid, there is no need for him to rely on qualifying – which has been his Achilles Heel ever since the two-pronged format was introduced.
Lorenzo indeed, has had the better of the Italian when it comes to generating the one lap speed. But over a race distance, Rossi has made a habit of scything to the front, from starting in the pack.
Permutation wise, if Lorenzo triumphs in the race, Rossi must finish second to be champion. If the Spaniard achieves second then Rossi has to finish third. And so on and so forth.
If Lorenzo crosses the line in tenth or worse, the Italian will be champion no matter where he finishes.
If both riders end up on equal points, then by merit of having more wins this season – Lorenzo will be champion.
No possibilities can be excluded, as history suggests in grand prix motorcycle racing. It was only in 2006, when chasing his sixth premier class title, did Rossi fall at the final race in Valencia from pole position. The Yamaha rider recovered to finish thirteenth, but had lost the championship to Honda’s Nicky Hayden.
There is a part yet for both the factory Hondas to play too. The in-form rider in Dani Pedrosa, whose victory in Sepang was overshadowed by the Rossi-Márquez clash – has the most wins in the premier class at the Valencia circuit.
2014 winner Márquez, will surely have some sort of retaliation against Rossi – with a legion of Spanish support behind him and his compatriots.
As for the Yamaha duo, both riders share two wins apiece at Ricardo Tormo.
The odds may be against Rossi, but he isn’t already a seven-time world champion for nothing. MotoGP is unpredictable and unforgiving, thus it isn’t proper to establish a winner until the chequered flag is dropped on Sunday.
Whoever does get to add another plaque emblazoned with their name to the Champion’s Tower however, will have earnt it wholly. For this (barring the Malaysia farce) has been another classic season of MotoGP.
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