Sep 28
2008

Yes, Valentino only required a third place or higher to clinch the MotoGP championship for this year, but he’s not one to settle. He drove a sensational race from the second row and even when he was second behind Casey Stoner it still didn’t look like he was going to have the pace to catch him and overtake. Casey’s bike was much stronger on the short straights, but Rossi was pulling it back under breaking and conering. Eventually Rossi passed Stoner and got up into first place, but bearing in mind the differences already mentioned could Rossi pull away to establish his lead? Yes!

He crossed the line to take the race victory and the world championship. Yamaha have also wrapped up the constructors and Fiat Yamaha have taken the team championship, overall a pretty good day for the Yamaha organisation. Valentino’s world championship is his sixth in the top class of MotoGP and he had wins in both the lower classes too, making a total of 8 world championships!

Will Yamaha’s title sponsor (Fiat) be celebrating later today when Felipe Massa lines up alongside Hamilton in the night race at Singapore? The track looks fantastic under the lights. I was critical of Valencia from a viewers point of view the circuit was dull with only the crash barriers to really look at, however Singapore with similar track edging is much more interesting, possibly because there are more points of note. 2 bridges, that three part chicane that really shows off the cars (and launched Fisichella in morning practice yesterday) and the Grandstand, where the track goes beneath the grandstand – all fantastic elements of the track. All of that in a super bright light. Let the second race of the day commence…oh just a minute it’s not on until 1pm!

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