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MOTOGP FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 18 / NOVEMBER 17-18, 2018 RICARDO TORMO CIRCUIT / VALENCIA, SPAIN P66 both him and Pirro. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Idemitsu Honda) had been alone most of the race behind them, but in the last laps he came under attack from Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha), fending him off by half-a-second for sixth, his own best result. Smith had been on Zarco's tail for most of the race; Alvaro Bautista (Angel Nieto Ducati) had been with them, but crashed out at half distance. Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda) narrowly got the better of Hafizh Syahrin (Monster Yamaha) in the last two laps. Some ways back Scott Redding (Aprilia) re-passed Jorge Lorenzo's Ducati on the last lap for his best result of the year in his last GP. A disconsolate Rossi was 13th, almost 20 seconds away Karel Abraham (Angel Nieto Ducati) was 14th, with a distant Jordi Tor- his strong end-of-season form. "Now we will test a new bike, with a more powerful engine," he said, reaching across to tap Dovizioso playfully, and adding, "Watch out next year." The excitement was coming from Pol Espargaro, the only other rider who had new tires front and rear. He had been fourth from the start, but under severe pressure in the early laps from Dani Pedrosa's Repsol Honda, who got ahead several times. But "my confidence was high because we had been fast in the wet in practice," the jubilant younger rider said later. By half distance he'd broken free, leav- ing Pedrosa to tussle with Pirro, a fight he would eventually lose. Espargaro was less than two seconds ahead of the Ducati test rider at the end, for his first podium and a best-ever result for no last year, when heavy rain struck on race day. Turn 12, a right-hander before the last sweep and final hairpin, claimed the most victims. Another bad spot was Turn 4, the first right after some 30 seconds of turning left. This corner claimed not only Marquez in qualifying, but also Valentino Rossi on Saturday morning, with a slamming high-side that left the Yamaha rider below par, qualifying only 16th. Track safety provisions and rider air-bags proved impressive under the circumstances, with only two riders sufficiently badly injured to be out of action before Sunday morning. Reale Avintia Ducati rider Xavier Simeon missed his last race in the class, and his final outing on Tito Rabat's GP17, after two falls on Friday left him with concussion; and Hector Garzo, in place of injured Bo Bendsneyder on the Tech 3 Moto2 bike. RABAT ALMOST READY Tito Rabat, who sustained severe leg injuries in the controversial rain- triggered multi-bike crash at an unfit Silverstone circuit, was at the cir- cuit, still on crutches, but planning to get back in the saddle at post- race tests on Tuesday and Wednes- day. Recuperation "took longer than I expected," he said. "But it was important to recover fully." FENATI GETS FRESH START Disgraced Italian Romano Fenati has been offered quick redemption, and will be back in grand prix racing next year. As part of his "fresh start" contrition, however, the 22-year-old is returning to Moto3. Fenati earned universal opprobrium and made the Briefly... Ducati's super sub Michele Pirro stayed out of trouble for an excellent fourth on the GP19.