Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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MOTOGP FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 18 / NOVEMBER 17-18, 2018 RICARDO TORMO CIRCUIT / VALENCIA, SPAIN P60 iii My Own Race: 93 MARC MARQUEZ DNF MOTOGP "Today I had a big high-side, but the shoulder was okay, just a bit painful from yesterday," said Marc Marquez of his final race of the year. "Unfortunately, it was a mistake that I chose the medium rear tire on the grid, as that turned out not to be the best option. I said sorry to the team, as it was my decision; I had felt really good on it in FP3, but when it began to rain heavily after the start, everything became very difficult and got worse and worse, as it was difficult to keep the temperature in the tire. Anyway, now it's time to enjoy these final moments having achieved the Triple Crown, which is something really special. The season has been very good, one of my best, without too many mistakes; today's was probably my worst one. I'm really proud of my 2018 season, but a new one begins on Tuesday." 26 DANI PEDROSA 5TH MOTOGP "For sure I had a particular feeling before today's race, knowing that the moment of my final race had arrived," said Dani Pedrosa of his last race of his career. "Well, actually it turned out that I had two! Unfortunately the weather was really tricky. In both races, I struggled so much with the rear and couldn't really get on the gas. I was actually expect- ing to have a better feeling in the second race, as there was less water on the track. But we changed the tires and I had no grip, so I could only try and finish the race with no crashes. It's a bit of a shame, but when I got back to the pits, I found everybody waiting for me—the team, my family, my people—and there was a very emotional atmosphere. I was pleased to see their emotion. It meant a lot to me. Now I'll have several events to attend, but after that I'll try and have some time to myself and relax a bit before next year." 46 VALENTINO ROSSI 13TH MOTOGP "The feeling was very bad, because the conditions were tricky with four laps to go," said Valentino Rossi. "We needed this result for my team and Yamaha, to finish the season in a nice way, but unfortunately I made a mistake. It's a great shame. It was a very similar crash to the one in Malaysia. We don't understand very well what happened. Maybe at the end we need to pay more attention. Still, it remained a good performance. Until that moment I enjoyed it, because I was strong, and I remained in third place in the champion- ship, which is important." 26 MAVERICK VINALES DNF MOTOGP "After the crash, I feel okay," Maverick Vinales said. "I have no big injuries, only some pain in my shoulder. Anyway, it's been difficult, because I had a technical problem that didn't allow me to be faster at the start of the race. But then I concentrated so well, and I tried to ride very fast. I risked a lot, because for the championship I just needed to be in front of Valentino and he was riding really fast. It was a pity I had this issue, because without it, I would have been at the front fighting with Alex and Dovi. Anyway, we have to be happy that this is the third wet race where we are challenging at the front. I came back very strong from towards the back. Honestly, I'm happy the last five races have been so good. I was consistent and I felt very confident. We understand the bike and found out in which direction we needed to go, and we regained our confidence, so that's something to take away from 2018. It's important to understand what happened at the beginning of the season, so we can be smart and don't make the same mistakes. Now it's important to try the engines during the upcoming test, but I'm very happy with Yamaha. We are excited to start and I'm very motivated! 44 MIGUEL OLIVEIRA 1ST MOTO2 "We end the season with a great result that was what we were looking for this weekend," said Moto2 winner Miguel Oliveira. "We took a victory in difficult conditions, because the track was drying out and the tire temperature was increasing, making it very easy to make a mistake. I tried to control my pace, not brake too hard, not push excessively and take the win. Today the most important thing was not to be the fastest rider; it was a matter of being consistent and not making mistakes. At the start I calmed down and focused on taking the lead, but then I saw that Marquez was coming through strong and I did not want to fight so early in the race. I stayed behind him until he made the mistake and I was able to control the rest of the race."