MotoGP season finale live on Ten Sports

MUMBAI: Casey Stoner may have wrapped up the MotoGP world championship title, but he is not taking his hands off the throttle as yet as the two-wheel carnival moves to Valencia, Spain for its final stop of the season.

Stoner won the championship with his sixth place finish in Japan, and then celebrated it with back-to-back victories in Australia and Malaysia. But he is as motivated as ever to secure his 11th title of the season at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Cheste, on the outskirts of Valencia in Spain.

And Ten Sports, the most watched sports channel in the sub-continent, will be there to bring live action from the race, which starts at 3:15 pm IST on Sunday, November 4.

Just how good a season Stoner has had can be gauged by the fact that his worst finish this year was a sixth place in Japan, which actually won the title for him. He already has 347 points on top of the table and leads second-placed Valentino Rossi by 106 points.

And on the eve of the Valencia race, Stoner shows no sign of letting up as he said: “Valencia will be a special weekend, the last race of a season that has been a dream-come-true. The championship may already be done, but I don’t need any more motivation than each race weekend. Every race is just as important as the others to me, so we go out there every time to try and win.”

The second and third places are all-but-decided, with Rossi 24 points ahead of Dani Pedrosa. Only a win by Pedrosa and a no-points finish by Rossi will change the position. The Italian superstar returns to the scene of a nightmare race last year, where he conceded the World Championship to Nicky Hayden after an early crash, and is keen to make up this year.

And Rossi said: “The second place in a World Cup certainly isn’t the same as a first place, but still, it’s very important. Also because, since 1996 I have never finished below the second position and I want to continue that way. Valencia is one of my favourite tracks, though last year things didn’t go well. It has been a long and hard season. More than anything, I want to win and give the team a happy end of this season" said Valentino. The spirits are still high and we'll do our best in Valencia.”

The Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana was completed in 1999 and held rounds of the MotoGP and Spanish Motorcycle Championships in the same year. The Cheste track has several layouts, running anticlockwise with varying lengths. MotoGP events are held on a 4km track comprising of five right handed corners, eight left handers and a 650m straight. Although the track is regarded as quite small, the pit complex contains 48 garages and the stadium-style grandstand can seat up to 150,000 spectators.

The circuit layout which allows all parts of the circuit to be seen from any stand, helps to create a unique atmosphere enjoyed by all the riders.