It was a Yamaha 1-2-3 on day one of the Valencia test at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, but one man was ahead of the rest: Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT).

The Frenchman ended the day top of the pile after 82 laps, the fastest of which was two tenths off his pole: a 1m30.163s. Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was second and 0.164s off after 66 laps, with Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) completing the top three but a few more tenths in arrears.

At Yamaha, 2020 therefore began with a bang. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP riders Vinales and Valentino Rossi – who was ninth – had a new chassis, engine and notably different air intake. Rossi’s new Crew Chief, David Munoz, was on hand as well as the team enjoyed an addition of a slightly different sort.

Petronas Yamaha SRT’s Quartararo and Morbidelli, meanwhile, tried the carbon swingarm, and Quartararo tried some aero new to him, but not to Yamaha.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) was fourth quickest and only 0.015s off Morbidelli after 58 laps, with the biggest headline from the Borgo Panigale factory proving a new chassis. Danilo Petrucci also stole some limelight for tougher reasons, with the Italian only putting in 10 laps due to pain in his shoulder exacerbated by his crash during the grand prix.

Nevertheless, he was 12th overall. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) was tenth after an apt 43 laps, trying some new parts but the full package is expected by the Jerez test. Ducati test rider Michele Pirro was on the other side of the Pramac garage, with Francesco Bagnaia remaining sidelined following his crash during the GP weekend.

Honda, meanwhile, were fifth with reigning champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team). He put in 60 laps although one was cut short as the number 93 crashed, scattering a few parts through the gravel. The biggest news at Honda was a new chassis though, as well, of course, as the arrival of Alex Marquez.

The number 73 was at LCR Honda and had an early crash later replicated by test rider Stefan Bradl at turn 10, although Alex completed 53 laps by the end of the day. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) was 11th and did 69 laps working towards 2020.

Suzuki locked out sixth and seventh on day one with Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) leading teammate Alex Rins. The former did 63 laps and the latter 76. The Hamamatsu factory had a new engine previously tested by test rider Sylvain Guintoli, and that’s what Alex Rins set his fastest lap with.

KTM were all hands on deck: a new chassis, different engine spec, a new steering damper and work focusing on electronics, fairing, winglets, seats kept them busy. The new chassis – still a tubular steel frame – is aimed at improved adaptability. Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was 10th and did 58 laps. New teammate Brad Binder was also a big addition for the Austrian factory and he put in 70 laps as a new era in his career begins.

Red Bull KTM Tech 3 also had a new kid on the block, although he’s taken part in his first grand prix: Iker Lecuona. The Spaniard was impressive once again, despite a crash, and ended the day in 13th after 57 laps. Dani Pedrosa was on track for KTM too, putting in 52 laps and based in the Tech 3 garage as Miguel Oliveira remains absent through injury.

At Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, there was nothing new as yet, with work focused on improving electronics and engine braking. Andrea Iannone did 54 laps and was 14th, Aleix Espargaro did 45 laps and was 16th. Test rider Bradley Smith was also on track and caused a red flag with a crash, rider ok, but he did complete 50 laps for the Noale factory. Riders are back on track on Wednesday to continue testing.

Marc Marquez claimed victory number 12 of the season at Valencia’s MotoGP finale, making Repsol Honda Team Champions to add to his rider title and the constructors’ championship – the triple crown.

Teammate Jorge Lorenzo also scored points in his final MotoGP rider, with the five-time world champion bidding an emotional farewell to the sport. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT), meanwhile, signed off with another impressive podium in second, and he pipped Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) to the title of top Independent Team rider as the Aussie followed him home in third.

Miller launched his Pramac Racing machine into the holeshot, with Marquez getting a sluggish getaway from the middle of the front row to drop down to P6, having run slightly wide at turn one. Polesitter Quartararo then grabbed the lead from Miller as the Australian ran wide at turn two, with the Frenchman quickly creating a small gap to his rivals.

Heading into turn one on lap two, Marquez was into P3 past the fast-starting duo of Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), however, and it wouldn’t take the 2019 Champion long to pick off Miller as he locked his radar onto Quartararo.

The Rookie of the Year’s lead was 0.7s over Marquez, with the latter racing to an eight-tenths advantage over Miller. Marquez was creeping up to the back of the leading M1 slowly but surely, and on Lap 8 a surprise, late but super fine move at turn 11 saw the number 93 lead.

Suddenly third place Miller – with Dovizioso and Rins in tow – had closed the gap to less than half a second, the top five covered by 1.7s. However, Marquez was in the groove and the eight-time Champion had pulled to over half a second clear of Quartararo, with the gap hovering between 0.6s and 0.8s for a number of laps after.

Miller wasn’t letting Quartararo have P2 all his own way either, that margin was remaining at a second – enough to keep the number 20 on his toes. Everyone held firm before a tenth here and a tenth there saw Marquez stretch his advantage to one and a half seconds with six laps remaining, with Miller cutting the gap to Quartararo down by four tenths.

It was 0.6s, but was there a late twist for P2 inbound? Not quite, Miller didn’t have enough speed to catch the back of the M1 by the time the chequered flag was waved, with Marquez taking another 25-point haul to land Repsol Honda team the 2019 triple crown, Quartararo taking another podium and beating Miller to top Independent Team rider.

Dovizioso and Ducati’s aims of picking up the Teams title didn’t materialise in Valencia, but P4 was a solid result for the Italian who was comfortably best of the rest in 2019. Rins capped off a fine season by claiming P5 at his home Grand Prix, however it wasn’t enough to grab P3 in the championship from sixth place finisher Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) – the Malaysian GP winner having a quiet final round of the season before jumping onto the 2020 Yamaha on Tuesday.

Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) in seventh was a great way to round off a very solid rookie MotoGP campaign, the Spaniard ending 2019 with five consecutive top 10s after an impressive comeback from his testing crash at Brno. Valentino Rossi’s (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) P8 sees the nine-time world champion end the season P7 in the overall standings, with Aleix coming out on top in the battle of the Espargaro brothers – P9 for Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini), P10 for Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). That makes it all factories in the top 10.

Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team), Johann Zarco (LCR Honda Idemitsu) and Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) all crashed at turn six, on lap 14, in separate incidents, although Lecuona was close behind Zarco and the Frenchman got flipped by the KTM. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol), Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) also crashed – all riders ok.

On his final ever MotoGP ride, five-time world champion and future MotoGP Legend Jorge Lorenzo finished P13. It was an emotional day for the Spaniard who arrived back into pitlane to rapturous applause, with the Valencia fans paying their full respects to one of the sport’s greatest ever riders on his cool-down lap.

Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) leaves the intermediate class on a high after taking his fifth win of the year, and third in a row. The South African played his cards to perfection to out-duel his main rival for second overall, Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP), with the Swiss rider forced to settle for second on the day and third in the standings.

Jorge Navarro (MB Conveyors Speed Up) completed the podium on true home turf, the Valencian taking his eighth podium of the year. Australian Remy Gardner (SAG Racing) was 15th.

Rookie Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) took a stunning maiden Moto3 victory on home turf, returning to a top step he knows well from the FIM CEV Repsol Moto3 Junior World Championship thanks to a last corner pass on Andrea Migno (Mugen Race).

A breakaway group of seven riders battled for victory after an initial red-flagged lightweight class race as wildcard Xavier Artigas claimed a phenomenal debut rostrum on board his Leopard Impala Junior Team machine.

After an incredible first season in the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup, we have our inaugural Cup winner: Matteo Ferrari (Trentino Gresini MotoE). After taking P5 in race two at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, the Italian lifted the crown with an 11-point advantage over Bradley Smith (One Energy Racing), bringing an impressive season to a close with two wins out of six.

In the race on the day, Eric Granado (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) came out on top after a duel with the very same Smith, with Hector Garzo (Tech 3 E-Racing) completing the podium.

Detailed results

Five-time world champion Jorge Lorenzo has announced he’ll retire from MotoGP following this weekend’s season-finale at Valencia in Spain.

The Repsol Honda rider, who will make his 297th grand prix start on Sunday, exits the sport with a pair of 250cc championships and three premier class title earned in 2010, 2012 and 2015.

Lorenzo’s career boasts a number of incredible achievements, including the second most podium finishes in the premier class (114), the second-highest amount of pole positions across all classes (69), the fifth most successful rider in terms of wins in the premier class (47), and the third-highest point scorer of all time (2896) in the premier class.

A number of injuries in 2019, such as fracturing multiple vertebrae at Assen, has prompted the Spaniard to call time on his career.

“I want to announce this will be my last race in MotoGP, and that at the end of this race I will retire from professional racing,” Lorenzo stated in a press conference. “I was three years old when everything started. Almost 30 years of complete dedication to this sport.

“Everyone who has worked with me knows how much of a perfectionist I am, how much hard work and intensity I put into this. Being like this requires a high level of motivation, when I signed for Honda I had an incredible feeling of motivation, achieving one of the dreams of every rider – to be an official HRC factory rider.

“Unfortunately, injuries came to play an important role in my season, being unable to ride in a normal way. I started to see some light but I had this bad crash in the Montmelo test, and some weeks later that ugly one in Assen. The truth is from that crash, the hill became too high for me, and even if I tried, I couldn’t find the motivation and patience to be able to keep climbing it.

“I’m disappointed with that, I want to say sorry to Alberto Puig, to Takeo, Kuwata, Nomura and all my team, who I have to say have always treated me in an exceptional way. I would like to sincerely thank everyone at Honda for their support and understanding and also extend my thanks and gratitude to everyone who has been there through my career.”

Honda is yet to announce who will take Lorenzo’s position in the factory squad for the 2020 MotoGP World Championship.