MOTOGP VALENCIA: PEDROSA WINS, SPIES SEVENTH

By David Miller

Picture by: Paul Sturman

Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa has won the last MotoGP race of the season at Valencia but Sterilgarda Yamaha's Ben Spies has shocked the paddock, finishing in seventh and ahead of Pedrosa's team-mate Andrea Dovizioso.

The diminutive Spaniard got into the first corner and promptly cleared off, leaving the Fiat Yamaha pairing of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo to fight out for the podium places after Casey Stoner highsided on the warm-up lap.

After Lorenzo had a massive moment on lap three, where he lost the front of his YZR-M1 and then the rear and was spat out of the seat, Rossi was able to take advantage and put some time into Lorenzo which he couldn't claw back. Lorenzo's Dainese airbag system was also triggered.

Spies, meanwhile, held a steady pace for the first five laps but then, as he got used to the Bridgestone tyres, started to move forward putting Mika Kallio, Randy De Puniet and, on with six laps to go, went underneath Dovizioso for seventh, which gave his team-mate for next year Colin Edwards fifth in the championship. The Texan finished fourth in the race just ahead of Nicky Hayden.

Toni Elias was in between the two Americans while Britain's James Toseland could only muster 12th place in his final MotoGP race. He swaps with Spies in World Superbikes next season.

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