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When Jorge is in on form, as he was this weekend, he can sew up the race on lap one. This was no crime though, and Iannone took care of entertaining the crowds. His magic number was 21, the total number of passes with Marquez and Rossi. A good average.
In Moto2, Zarco made his umpteenth backflip, but from the highest step of the podium while, in Moto3, Brad Binder left his rivals' heads spinning.
There was no better way to head into the enforced winter hibernation period.
THE GOOD – Jorge Lorenzo joined his companion for a final 30 laps towards yet another victory. The marriage is over, the Spaniard has lost his head for a redhead, but the final dance took place beneath fireworks. From Tuesday the sushi at his table will be replaced by tagliatelle, let's hope with no ill effect on his digestion.
THE BAD – One love, one world, one family. Snakes for relatives though, and Iannone thus declared his love for Ducati while also scolding them for the coldness they showed towards him at the final races. The final quarrels, but off the track. On the track, Iannone showed all of his grit, in a positive sense. The riders say it's hard to pass at Valencia, he apologises, he didn't know.
THE UGLY – Three wasted opportunities, two in Moto3 and one in Moto2. Bulega, Di Giannantonio and Marini could have become rookie of the year in their respective categories, but didn't quite make it. But they did show that they deserve a promotion. Rabat had no such worries, they basically handed him the award at the opening round, being the only rookie in the MotoGP category.
THE DISAPPOINTMENT – We already saw this at Malaysia, the Spanish air clouded Andrea Dovizioso's golden moment. The front tyre, once again, has been blamed for his disappointing performance in the race. We give Dovi the benefit of the doubt.
THE CONFIRMATION – He's the rider who has scored most points during the second half of the season. Consistency is not something that Franco Morbidelli lacks. All he has missed out on is a win, so that has to be his first task next season.
THE MISTAKE – Crutchlow's last of 2016 came during the race, but there's been a long series. Cal has won the little-publicised crasher of the year award, clocking up a total of 26. The good news is that he's never hurt himself, the bad news is that the fairings don't come free.
THE SURPRISE– After his Assen podium, Andrea Migno's performance was dropped off but Valencia saw him return to the podium. This should motivate him to prepare well over the winter for the 2017 season.
THE PASS – We give Moto3 world champ Brad Binder a distinction. After making a mistake, he was down in 22nd place, but he then put on a show and humiliated his rivals. He's not got #1 on his fairing for nothing you know.
THE INTERESTING FACT – There's often a tale behind a new helmet, some more interesting than others. This is not the case for Pedrosa who simply said about his new helmet: “I just liked it”. Fair enough.
I TOLD YOU SO – Mika Kallio before the weekend began: “I haven't come to Valencia to finish last”. In fact, he retired from the race.
