• Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) wins the last race of 2021
• Bagnaia sets a new race lap record in 1min 31s 042
• A new record for race duration on the Ricardo Tormo circuit in 41min 15s 481
Francesco Bagnaia was once again in winning mode this weekend during the last round of MotoGP™ 2021 in Valencia, the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana. He battled throughout the race with rookie Jorge Martín (Pramac Racing), ultimately second ahead of Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team), third, who gave Ducati its very first hat-trick.
In his fight for victory, Bagnaia set a new race lap record of 1min 31s 042, bettering that of Marc Márquez from 2019, and also broke the race duration record by more than five seconds with a time total of 41min 15s 481.
On the starting grid, all the drivers chose the MICHELIN Power Slicks Hard front and Medium rear, a combination which offered the best combination of consistency, grip, braking stability and revving.
Friday began with unusual rain and low temperatures in Free Practice 1 (FP1), thus depriving teams and drivers of running in the dry. Fortunately, the rain cleared in the afternoon and Free Practice 2 (FP2) was dry. Despite the cold, the MICHELIN Power Slicks were out for the first time this weekend. Despite the conditions, the drivers were able to attack hard to secure a place in the top-10 and the first three were separated by less than 7/100e of second.
The good weather, more usual in the Valencia region, returned on Saturday, and in Free Practice 3 (FP3), after being able to assess the level of grip on the track with different slick options, the drivers began to line up fast laps in the last 10 minutes of the session to get a place directly in Q2 (Qualifying 2). The performance of the tires was underlined by the fact that 0.296 seconds separated the top-10.
During Qualifying 2 (Q2), Ducati monopolized the first starting row for the second time this season, with Martín, in pole position with 1min 29s 936 with his MICHELIN Power Slicks Hard front and Soft rear, ahead of Bagnaia and Miller.
About this last race of the 2021 season, Piero Taramasso, Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager, said: “ It was another good weekend for us from a tire point of view. The very tight times on Friday and Saturday prove that our tire allocation worked perfectly for all the drivers and all the manufacturers and this contributes to intense and exciting battles as was the case in FP3 and Q2. »
« It was a great end to the season and I would like to congratulate Ducati on their historic treble. I am certain that the spectators appreciated the spectacle on the track today, as was also the case for the rest of the season, thanks in particular to the grip and the consistency in the performance offered by our tires which made it possible to beat the race duration record and set fast laps from start to finish. »
« Finally, all my congratulations to Valentino Rossi for his 10e final place in his very last MotoGP Grand Prix. Grazie Vale, Ciao! »
