Preview – Valencian Grand Prix
Crash.net
Rossi and Hayden, Australian MotoGP, 2006
Melandri leads start of Valencia MotoGP Race, 2005
Dovizioso and Lorenzo, Japanese 250GP, 2006
For the first time in 14 years, the MotoGP World Championship will be decided with a final round showdown, which Yamaha's Valentino Rossi will start eight-points ahead of Honda's Nicky Hayden.
Reigning five-times world champion Rossi has only lost one premier-class title since he arrived in 2000, but - after a difficult season - the Italian superstar only took the 2006 points lead last time out in Portugal, in a race of truly monstrous consequences for the Repsol Honda team.
Hayden began the penultimate round 12 points clear of Rossi, but team-mate Dani Pedrosa stunned the MotoGP world when he slammed into the side of the Kentuckian on lap five of 28, bringing them both down and leaving the way clear for Rossi to lead the championship.
Hayden's fury may have abated, but Pedrosa's colossal mistake can only be rectified in one way: The 250cc world champion, who has won the 250cc race at Valencia for the last two years, must finish second behind Hayden on Sunday to give the American and Honda the world title by a single point.
It's a tough call for Hayden. The former AMA Superbike champion led the championship by a massive 51 points after winning his home grand prix, round 11 at Laguna Seca. He's agonisingly watched that lead being swallowed up by a resurgent Rossi and Camel Yamaha - and the heartbreaking clash in Portugal would have destroyed a weaker character.
But the 25-year-old rider is made of sterner stuff and will fight to the finish to try and break Rossi's perfect sweep of all the 990cc championships. Hayden goes well round the tight 2.486 mile circuit and finished second last year after a superb battle with Marco Melandri, which was decided at the flag by 0.097secs.
The 30 lap race on Sunday will be the biggest test of Hayden's racing life, while seven-times world champion Rossi is used to fighting for titles - although never at the final round. A patriotic sell-out weekend crowd of over 220,000 will boost Pedrosa, who in turn has only one thought in mind - to help his team-mate win the world title that his moment of madness in Portugal could well have wrecked.
Meanwhile Rossi, who admits Valencia is not his favourite circuit despite winning two MotoGP races in 2003 and 2004 and finishing third last year, will be looking for help from his team-mate Colin Edwards. The Texan proved the perfect team-mate in Portugal, which is something that Pedrosa will be hoping to achieve for Hayden on Sunday.
A 'small' problem for the central players in the plot is the fact that so many other riders who are not interested in world titles are very capable of not only winning the race, but also filling positions on the podium to really complicate matters.
For instance, the Fortuna Honda duo arrive at the circuit, named after the former 50cc World Champion Ricardo Tormo, bristling with confidence. Spaniard Toni Elias produced the ride of his life to beat Rossi in Portugal and secure his first MotoGP victory, while team-mate Melandri won the race last year and is fighting to hold onto his third place in the championship.
Melandri leads fellow Italian Loris Capirossi by eights points, which has a familiar ring to it, with Pedrosa a further seven points adrift. Capirossi had a difficult time in Portugal but has been in superb form winning two of the previous four races on the Marlboro Ducati. He's joined by World Superbike Champion and former team-mate Troy Bayliss, who replaces the injured Sete Gibernau for the final race of the year.
Veteran Kenny Roberts will be looking to end a superb season for his Oxfordshire- based KR team with a third podium. The former World 500cc Champion is sixth in the championship after a superb third place in Portugal, a race he was leading going into the last lap.
KR Jr leads 21-year-old Australian Casey Stoner by two points and it's a big race for Stoner for many different reasons. He has crashed out of the last two grands prix and it's his last ride for the LCR Honda team before he replaces Gibernau at Ducati next season.
Shinya Nakano won the 250cc race in Valencia six years ago and signs off his Kawasaki career on Sunday before joining Honda next season, replacing Makoto Tamada in the Konica Minolta team. His team-mate Randy de Puniet is also a former 250 Valencia winner and will be looking to finish his first MotoGP season with a decent result.
Spaniard Carlos Checa has his last ride for the Tech 3 Yamaha team - currently facing an uncertain future - before replacing Stoner at LCR Honda, while Australian Gary McCoy makes his second appearance for the Ilmor team riding the X3 800cc machine.
