Dani Pedrosa has farewelled his racing career with a fifth place finish at Valencia’s final round of the 2018 MotoGP World Championship in Spain yesterday.

Treacherous conditions and a red flag made for a dramatic outgoing, although the experienced Spaniard escaped the chaos to complete his last ever race in what was one of his stronger performances of the year, ultimately winding up 11th in the championship standings.

“For sure I had a particular feeling before today’s race, knowing that the moment of my final race had arrived,” Pedrosa explained. “Well, actually it turned out that I had two! Unfortunately the weather was really tricky. In both races, I struggled so much with the rear and couldn’t really get on the gas.

“I was actually expecting to have a better feeling in the second race, as there was less water on the track. But we changed the tyres and I had no grip, so I could only try and finish the race with no crashes. It’s a bit of a shame, but when I got back to the pits, I found everybody waiting for me—the team, my family, my people—and there was a very emotional atmosphere.

“I was pleased to see their emotion. It meant a lot to me. Now I’ll have several events to attend, but after that I’ll try and have some time to myself and relax a bit before next year.”

The Spaniard concludes his career with three world championships in the 125cc and 250cc categories and 54 premier class wins to his credit. He’ll transition to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing next year in a test rider and development role.