And Now, The End Is Near…

DORNA MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

- Jack Fairman

The flyaways are done and dusted for another year. Marc Marquez has wrapped up another championship. I’ve reluctantly put the heating on for an hour a day – even though it’s not December, and at least seven people on my street have already got their Christmas trees up. These harbingers of doom can only mean one thing. Valencia is upon us and the year that was the MotoGP 2019 season is, in the words of Sinatra, facing its final curtain.

Valencia 2019 marks the end of an era. No, not that end of an era – Valentino Rossi isn’t retiring just yet, I reckon he’s still got another 10 good years in him. No, Dorna are changing the testing schedule from 2020, so this year will see the last of the Valencia post-season tests – a traditional fixture on the calendar since what seems like forever. It has always been an interesting test. Not only to see the riders getting a run out on new machinery when they’ve swapped manufacturers, but also, the rookies that have graduated from Moto2 and Moto3 as well as the odd move from WSBK. So, with all the MotoGP grid slots confirmed for 2020, what better time to have a look at what we can expect next year.