End of an era for Alvaro Bautista and Angel Nieto Team at Valencia GP

The 2018 MotoGP World Championship came to an end with a dramatic Valencia GP, divided into two after a storm, in which Andrea Dovizioso took the victory. Nine riders crashed out of the last round of the year, as the Italian was joined on the podium by rostrum Álex Rins and Pol Espargaró. MotoGP World Champion Marc Márquez fell in the first section of the race and would not finish, whilst teammate Dani Pedrosa placed fifth in his final race.

The Ángel Nieto Team experienced the end of an era in Valencia, saying goodbye to their MotoGP participation with a fourteenth position for Karel Abraham. The Czech was able to fight with several riders in both parts of the race, but the appearance of rain in the final stages led him to focus on finishing and claiming points to round off the season.

Álvaro Bautista could not cross the finish line in his last race in MotoGP, falling when inside the top ten after the restart. The Spaniard, who won a 125cc title with the team in 2006, was a 250cc runner-up in 2008, and holds 16 victories and 49 podiums, now faces a new challenge in the World Superbike Championship with Ducati.

Álvaro Bautista (DNF):
“It was a shame to end the season like that, but that’s racing. In the end, these things happen in the wet. In the first race it started to rain too much and they did well to stop. In the second part I felt better, with more confidence, but at Turn 12 the rear stepped out and I was thrown off the bike. It has been a good year and we have to be happy with what we have achieved. I’ve loved the people in the World Championship during my time here, and I’ve received a lot of affection from the fans. I hope they continue to love me as much -or more- next year when I’m in Superbikes.”