MotoGP Grand Prix of Valencia 2016 Results: Winner, Standings and Reaction

Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo won his final race with the team at the MotoGP Grand Prix of Valencia on Sunday, as he led from start to finish in the last outing of the 2016 season. 

After showcasing searing pace in qualifying, Lorenzo, who will ride for Ducati next year, was alert off the start and able to build a comfortable lead.

The most intriguing battles came in pursuit of the other two podium spots; Honda’s Marc Marquez, who had secured the world championship ahead of this weekend, came home in second despite a late surge, with Ducati's Andrea Iannone holding off Yamaha man Valentino Rossi for third.

The MotoGP Twitter feed captured the moment Lorenzo triumphed and noted what a landmark day it was for the Spaniard:

Here is a look at the results from the final race of 2016 and the final standings at the end of another gripping season:

POS	RIDER	TEAM	BIKE	GAP
1	Jorge Lorenzo	Yamaha	Yamaha	45m54.228s
2	Marc Marquez	Honda	Honda	1.185s
3	Andrea Iannone	Ducati	Ducati	6.603s
4	Valentino Rossi	Yamaha	Yamaha	7.668s
5	Maverick Vinales	Suzuki	Suzuki	10.610s
6	Pol Espargaro	Tech3 Yamaha	Yamaha	18.378s
7	Andrea Dovizioso	Ducati	Ducati	18.417s
8	Aleix Espargaro	Suzuki	Suzuki	18.678s
9	Bradley Smith	Tech3 Yamaha	Yamaha	25.993s
10	Alvaro Bautista	Aprilia	Aprilia	35.065s
11	Hector Barbera	Avintia Ducati	Ducati	36.425s
12	Danilo Petrucci	Pramac Ducati	Ducati	42.415s
13	Stefan Bradl	Aprilia	Aprilia	49.823s
14	Scott Redding	Pramac Ducati	Ducati	52.035s
15	Jack Miller	Marc VDS Honda	Honda	55.625s
16	Eugene Laverty	Aspar Ducati	Ducati	58.254s
17	Tito Rabat	Marc VDS Honda	Honda	58.555s
18	Loris Baz	Avintia Ducati	Ducati	1m06.164s
-	Mika Kallio	KTM	KTM	Retirement
-	Cal Crutchlow	LCR Honda	Honda	Retirement
-	Dani Pedrosa	Honda	Honda	Retirement
-	Yonny Hernandez	Aspar Ducati	Ducati	Retirement

POS	RIDER	POINTS
1	Marc Marquez	298
2	Valentino Rossi	249
3	Jorge Lorenzo	233
4	Maverick Vinales	202
5	Andrea Dovizioso	171
6	Dani Pedrosa	155
7	Cal Crutchlow	141
8	Pol Espargaro	134
9	Andrea Iannone	112
10	Hector Barbera	102
11	Aleix Espargaro	93
12	Alvaro Bautista	82
13	Eugene Laverty	77
14	Danilo Petrucci	75
15	Scott Redding	74
16	Stefan Bradl	63
17	Bradley Smith	62
18	Jack Miller	57
19	Michele Pirro	36
20	Loris Baz	35
21	Tito Rabat	29
22	Yonny Hernandez	20
23	Katsuyuki Nakasuga	5
24	Alex Lowes	3
25	Hiroshi Aoyama	1
26	Nicky Hayden	1
27	Mike Jones	1

After a scintillating performance in qualifying on Saturday, Lorenzo, who set a lap record to take pole, was sharp off the line here and was able to build up a decent lead. Meanwhile, Marquez stuttered out of the traps, falling back down the field.

Rossi also suffered a slow start, although, as we can see here, it didn’t take long for the Italian to settle into a trademark groove and jump past Maverick Vinales:

Indeed, Rossi was quickly onto the back of Ducati’s Iannone, as the two Italians engaged in a thrilling tussle for second place. Eventually, it was the Yamaha rider who made his move stick after numerous interchanges, while a reeling Iannone had Marquez for company.

Meanwhile, up front, Lorenzo was capitalising on the squabbles behind, excelling with a clear road in front of him and trimming more time off the lap record in the process. At the halfway point of the race, the former world champion had built up an impressive lead in excess of four seconds.

JAVIER SORIANO/Getty Images

With Lorenzo dominating, the focus of the fans in attendance turned to the scrap for the preliminary places on the podium.

Marquez, who had looked more comfortable on wearing tyres all week, came alive in the second half of the race, first passing Rossi and then eventually moving up into second place with a slick overtake on Iannone, who had managed to battle back ahead of his compatriot.

The Box Repsol Twitter feed paid tribute to the Honda star, who showcased his tremendous overtaking skill in those exchanges:

The world champion then set about chopping down the gap to Lorenzo, and, suddenly there seemed to be a chance of victory for Marquez, with the front tyre on the Yamaha starting to grain. The Honda rider had sensed blood with the gap quickly coming down and was on the charge.

However, the outgoing world champion ultimately had too much of a buffer to the new world champion, and he was able to cling on to first place, signing off on his time at Yamaha in the best way possible. The Moto Race Feed hailed the tactical acumen of Lorenzo:

The race for third was ultimately a lot tighter, with the Italian duo of Rossi and Iannone exchanging places right up until the final lap. However, on a sprint to the line, the straight speed of the Ducati allowed Iannone to oust his compatriot.

JAVIER SORIANO/Getty Images

Afterward, Lorenzo was unsurprisingly delighted. "I'm very, very happy," he said, per Crash.net. "Now I can relax and sleep a bit. I had the perfect end. Luckily I could open the gap at the beginning but I suffered so much in the last 10 laps. I could win by one second and now it's time for a big celebration."

While he didn't win on the day, it’s been a year to remember for Marquez and the Honda team. They may not have been as dominant as they were in the Spaniard’s two other title wins, but the 23-year-old has had to show determination and exceptional race craft at times this term to clinch critical points. 

Next season, Marquez, who is maturing all the time, will be the man to beat again, although it’s set to be another fascinating term. Vinales’ move to Yamaha to work alongside Rossi will shake things up dramatically, while Lorenzo offered a reminder of his talents as he gets set for another exciting chapter in his storied career.