125cc MotoGP Valencia
Fourth position for Marc Marquez was more than enough for the 17 year-old to be confirmed as the deserved 2010 125cc World Champion after a mature ride from the Red Bull Ajo Motorsport rider in the GP Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana on Sunday.
Victory was taken by Bradley Smith as he won his first race of the season in the final round, cruising across the finish line 2.786 seconds clear in his last 125cc ride before graduating to the Moto2 class next season.
Taking a 17-point lead into the race Marquez knew that a calm and measured approach would be the key to wrapping up his first title, and immediately after the start of the race the order settled.
Smith took the lead, with Nico Terol (Bancaja Aspar) – Márquez’s only title rival in the final round – and Márquez following behind.
A poor start from Pol Espargaro (Tuenti Racing) was recovered well by the Spaniard as he slowly climbed back up the order having dropped as low as 11th on the opening lap, and as the race progressed Marquez allowed him through and into third, avoiding any potential mishaps to his title hopes.
With two laps to go Espargaro went through on Terol and the duo swapped positions once again, all the while Smith leading comfortably at the front.
The Brit took the chequered flag almost three seconds clear for his first win of 2010, thus breaking what had stretched to a 26-race winning streak in the category for Spanish riders. Espargaro signed off from the class with second position – his 12th podium of the year – with Terol crossing the line in third.
Marquez, at just over five seconds back, took fourth position to end the year on 310 points having won ten races, taken 12 podiums and 12 poles in the process.
Completing the top ten were Sandro Cortese (Avant Mitsubishi Ajo), Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX), Tomoyoshi Koyama (Racing Team Germany) – in his 100th GP – Efrén Vázquez (Tuenti Racing), Randy Krummenacher (Stipa-Molenaar Racing) and Luis Salom (Stipa-Molenaar Racing).
Riders suffering final-race disappointment in not finishing included Johann Zarco (WTR San Marino Team) who crashed out, whilst young Brit Danny Kent (Lambretta Reparto Corse) was forced to retire with a mechanical problem. Danny Webb (Andalucia Cajasol) lost an exhaust towards the end and finished 16th.
2010 125cc MotoGP Valencia Results:
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 25 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Bancaja Aspar Team | Aprilia | 142.7 | 40’25.648 |
| 2. | 20 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | Tuenti Racing | Derbi | 142.5 | +2.786 |
| 3. | 16 | 40 | Nicolas TEROL | SPA | Bancaja Aspar Team | Aprilia | 142.5 | +3.149 |
| 4. | 13 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Red Bull Ajo Motorsport | Derbi | 142.2 | +8.326 |
| 5. | 11 | 11 | Sandro CORTESE | GER | Avant Mitsubishi Ajo | Derbi | 141.2 | +24.375 |
| 6. | 10 | 12 | Esteve RABAT | SPA | Blusens-STX | Aprilia | 141.1 | +26.743 |
| 7. | 9 | 71 | Tomoyoshi KOYAMA | JPN | Racing Team Germany | Aprilia | 141.1 | +26.823 |
| 8. | 8 | 7 | Efren VAZQUEZ | SPA | Tuenti Racing | Derbi | 141.0 | +27.634 |
| 9. | 7 | 35 | Randy KRUMMENACHER | SWI | Stipa-Molenaar Racing GP | Aprilia | 140.3 | +41.211 |
| 10. | 6 | 39 | Luis SALOM | SPA | Stipa-Molenaar Racing GP | Aprilia | 140.3 | +41.279 |
| 11. | 5 | 23 | Alberto MONCAYO | SPA | Andalucia Cajasol | Aprilia | 139.1 | +1’02.540 |
| 12. | 4 | 78 | Marcel SCHROTTER | GER | Interwetten Honda 125 | Honda | 139.0 | +1’02.999 |
| 13. | 3 | 55 | Isaac VIÑALES | SPA | CBC Corse | Aprilia | 138.7 | +1’08.522 |
| 14. | 2 | 15 | Simone GROTZKYJ | ITA | Fontana Racing | Aprilia | 138.7 | +1’08.798 |
| 15. | 1 | 84 | Jakub KORNFEIL | CZE | Racing Team Germany | Aprilia | 137.8 | +1’24.798 |
| 16. | 99 | Danny WEBB | GBR | Andalucia Cajasol | Aprilia | 137.7 | +1’27.614 | |
| 17. | 56 | Peter SEBESTYEN | HUN | Ongetta Team | Aprilia | 137.1 | +1’38.939 | |
| 18. | 58 | Joan PERELLO | SPA | SAG Castrol | Honda | 137.0 | +1’39.356 | |
| 19. | 32 | Lorenzo SAVADORI | ITA | Matteoni Racing | Aprilia | 137.0 | +1’40.387 | |
| 20. | 63 | Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN | MAL | AirAsia – Sepang Int. Circuit | Aprilia | 136.4 | 1 Lap | |
| 21. | 73 | Taylor MACKENZIE | GBR | KRP MMCG | Honda | 135.9 | 1 Lap | |
| 22. | 70 | John McPHEE | GBR | KRP Bradley Smith Racing | Honda | 135.5 | 1 Lap | |
| Not Classified | ||||||||
| 50 | Sturla FAGERHAUG | NOR | AirAsia – Sepang Int. Circuit | Aprilia | 137.0 | 1 Lap | ||
| 31 | Niklas AJO | FIN | Monlau Competicion | Derbi | 138.2 | 3 Laps | ||
| 72 | Marco RAVAIOLI | ITA | Lambretta Reparto Corse | Lambretta | 135.4 | 4 Laps | ||
| 14 | Johann ZARCO | FRA | WTR San Marino Team | Aprilia | 138.8 | 5 Laps | ||
| 59 | Johnny ROSELL | SPA | SAG Castrol | Honda | 135.1 | 5 Laps | ||
| 52 | Danny KENT | GBR | Lambretta Reparto Corse | Lambretta | 135.9 | 9 Laps | ||
| 69 | Louis ROSSI | FRA | CBC Corse | Aprilia | 129.0 | 12 Laps | ||
| 94 | Jonas FOLGER | GER | Ongetta Team | Aprilia | 136.0 | 14 Laps | ||
| 96 | Tommaso GABRIELLI | ITA | Ongetta Team | Aprilia | 93.8 | 14 Laps | ||
| 26 | Adrian MARTIN | SPA | Aeroport de Castello – Ajo | Aprilia | 136.0 | 19 Laps | ||
