Valencia, traditionally the last round of the MotoGP season and often the scene of some pretty frantic last gasp action. It's a great circuit, though one where it's actually quite difficult to overtake, and the potential for some genuine death or glory moves is very high. As such it can be one of the most exciting races of the year. Alternatively, the recipients all the important silverware could already have been decided and the race could be for little more than the psychological value of ending the season on a high. Or not.

With some pretty diabolical weather greeting the protagonists when they deplaned from Malaysia, things didn't look too promising. Heavy rain and gusty winds made for a challenging time, and the occasional glimmer of dry just made things worse as, yet again, nobody could be sure what they were setting up for - wet or dry.

Nicky Hayden was the man to beat for the first three practice sessions, the Kentucky Kid doing his best to make sure that his last race with Honda would be one to remember. Conditions seemed to be different every session, and though Stoner, Rossi, Nakano and Pedrosa all made brief appearances toward the top of the table, Hayden was the only constant in a shifting situation.

Now it will come as no surprise to hear that free practice is one thing, while qualifying is something else entirely. And in qualifying, Hayden found himself getting knocked back to third at the very last, both Stoner and Pedrosa managing to edge past him on a drying track. The second row had the Tech3 pairing of Colin Edwards and James Toseland, both of whom were struggling for setup but showing true grit by riding around the issues instead of whining about them in the box. They were joined on the second row by Randy de Puniet, while Jorge Lorenzo headed up row three from Loris Capirossi and Andrea Dovizioso. Valentino Rossi, bizarrely, qualified tenth after having huge troubles getting a working setup and headed the fourth row from Toni Elias and Chris Vermeulen.

Naturally, after wet practice and damp qualifying, race day dawned clear and bright. Far warmer than any other time over the weekend and with no sign of rain at all, the teams all scrabbled around to try to get a setting that would work for them in the twenty minutes available. And it was Casey Stoner and his crew who seemed to find the setting, scorching off after a brief sojurn in the pits and leaving everyone else looking a little foolish. Pedrosa, Hayden and Edwards were all in the same ballpark, as was Rossi, but everyone else was a second or more slower than the outgoing champion.

So as everyone lined up for the race it was with a degree of trepidation. Although they all had at least some idea of their base dry setting, they couldn't have even an inkling of tyre wear or how things would pan out as the race wore on and fuel load decreased. But as the lights went out they all went off the line as hard as usual. Pedrosa got the holeshot, taking the lead until the second corner when Stoner dived under him and got his head down. Behind, Colin Edwards slipped around the outside of Nicky Hayden and into third while Toseland made a strong start before it all went wrong and he finished the lap back in twelfth. Dovizioso made a blinding start to slot into fifth from way back on the grid, just ahead of Capirossi and Rossiwho himself started to get a move on from early days.

Stoner lost no time at the front in opening a gap over Pedrosa, while Edwards yielded to Hayden's pressure on the second lap, dropping to fourth then fifth as Rossi came past both him and Hayden a couple of laps later. A spirited battle saw Dovizioso also get past the American pair to take fourth...and that was basically it as far as actual racing was concerned.

Stoner extended a lead over Pedrosa who in turn kept a cushion between himself and Rossi. The lead trio soon built a ten second plus gap over the rest of the field, and in all honesty the race really just became a procession of immaculately ridden, very fast, motorbikes for the next twenty four laps. Stoner had certainly got his setup just right, and though he didn't make a single mistake it wasn't particularly exciting to watch. One can't help but wonder what would have happened if the weather had been a little more co-operative for everyone else. But that's racing, of course, and what ifs are somewhat redundant.

So the season is over until March 2009. There are plenty of changes. We're seeing the departure of Michelin for at least the next three seasons as Bridgestone become sole tyre provider. Good news or not, it might close things up in the same way that the move to Pirelli did in SBK. What can't be looked at in a good way, regardless of the angle you take, is the departure of Eurosport from MotoGP, at least in the UK. Next year we will have to rely on the BBC for coverage, and that means no more Randy Mamola giving his truly inspired commentary. It also means no more qualifying and probably no more 125 or 250 coverage either. Which is a shame.

On track we'll see Nicky Hayden leaving Honda after nine years to take Marco Melandri's ill fated ride at Ducati. Hayden will be replaced by Dovizioso, who richly deserves a factory ride. Melandri goes to Kawasaki, replacing Anthony West who is joining Yamaha's World Supersport campaign. Astonishingly, Shinya Nakano currently doesn't have a ride while Sete Gibernau is coming back on a satellite bike. Sylvain Guintoli is joining British Superbikes which is good for us and hopefully he'll be back on the world scene shortly.

Valentino Rossi took sixteen podiums from eighteen races this season - a feat unequalled in the history of the sport. He's got to win two more championships to make him the most successful racer ever, as Agostini has ten in total though he didn't win as many races. I'd expect to see Rossi hanging around and going all out to beat that record before hanging up his leathers, and though it'll be a fight I suspect he'll manage it, too.

See you next season.

SB

Valencia MotoGP Results

1. Casey Stoner (Ducati)
2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda)
3. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)
4. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda)
5. Nicky Hayden (Honda)
6. Colin Edwards (Yamaha)
7. Shinya Nakano (Honda)
8. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha)
9. Loris Capirossi (Suzuki)
10. Alex de Angelis (Honda)

MotoGP standings (after eighteen rounds)

1. Valentino Rossi 373 (2008 MotoGP World Champion)
2. Casey Stoner 280
3. Dani Pedrosa 249
4. Jorge Lorenzo 190
5. Andrea Dovizioso 154
6. Nicky Hayden 155
7. Colin Edwards 144
8. Chris Vermeulen 128
9. Shinya Nakano 126
10. Loris Capirossi 118