Forza Vale

This has been one of the most interesting, compelling, controversial GP seasons ever. Multiple winners and intrigue; nearly Rossi's greatest comeback after being written off when Marquez burst on the scene; Rossi's Malaysian Marquez Meltdown. Because of the Sepang-bang Rossi starts the final round, at Valencia today, leading the championship but on the back row of the grid of 26 riders, as a punishment. His teammate, Lorenzo, is in pole and second in the championship.

In morning warm-up, Lorenzo was second fastest, behind Marquez, Rossi fourth, behind Pol Espargaro and ahead of Pedrosa. There's just 0.65s between the fastest lap of first and fifth.

Motogp.com has a a Grand Finale calculator (screen grab above). If Rossi finishes ahead of Lorenzo he wins, simple (but highly unlikely). Also, if Lorenzo wins the race, he is champion (UPDATE: Rossi could have come second. I was getting carried away), but you can pull the two contenders around in relation to each other to see where Rossi has to finish, to be champion, if Lorenzo comes third. It could put off the nail-biting for, oh 2-3 minutes, in the build up to today's race.

The photos below, of me with Rossi a couple of times among the many times I've interviewed him, show you where my allegiances lie. G