Nicky Hayden has won the MotoGP title fight, and Valentino Rossi crashed out on lap 4 after picking up the Yamaha finished 13th in the year's final grand prix in Valencia, Spain.
This was the story of the season, but not of the race. No, that belongs to the current world Superbike champion Troy Bayliss and the Ducati.
Troy was riding the Desmosedici because of the injuries sustained by Sete Gibernau in the previous GP.
It was fitting for the Australian champion to be riding the Ducati on its last outing, as he was the rider that demonstrated the then-new Desmosedici in 2002 when Ducati launched the bike as a contender in the MotoGP championship.
This race was the last time that we will see the 990cc MotoGP bikes as from next season they will be limited to 800cc, with 1 liter less fuel in their tanks. As such, the race was the last time to see the current MotoGP bikes on track.
Troy qualified second behind Rossi on the grid for the last race of the season at Valencia in Spain, while his team mate Loris Capirossi qualified for the third spot on the grid.
Rossi had a bobble at the start of the race which relegated him to 7th place after the first lap, and he seemed to be struggling to keep pace with the Honda RC211Vs and Ducati Desmosedici's of the leading pack. Troy, however, was already starting to pull out a healthy lead, ahead of American Niki Hayden who had managed to overtake the Ducati of Capirossi.
On lap 4, Rossi tried to open the throttle of the M1 Yamaha a little early in turn two, in an attempt to get a jump on the Honda ahead of him. This caused the front end to wash out, and Rossi could not pick the bike back up. He did, however, hold onto the throttle and keep the bike running, even managing to clutch it in to stop it stalling in the gravel.
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