Only Rossi lost titles to Cheste, who came in as leader

For the seventh time, the MotoGP world title will be decided at the Gran Premi de la Comunitat Valenciana in Cheste, where this Friday they got the ‘sold out’ for Sunday. But this Saturday he will serve his first match-ball of the weekend Pecco Bagnaia which only need to add four points than Jorge Martin to win his second straight MotoGP crown.

Coming to the final event with an advantage gives a certain authority when it comes to claiming the crown, but the teacher from Bagnaia, Valentino Rossiboth in 2006 and 2015, showed that even the greatest cannot promise happiness and lost the titles despite entering with an advantage.

There was a title distributed in Cheste in 2020 at Joan Mir, but in his case it was the penultimate race of the campaign.

2006 Nicky Hayden

Valentino Rossi, then with five premier class titles in his pocket, started with an advantage to claim the crown in the final race against Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda) by arriving with an 8-point advantage and a streak of five in a row podium. Il Dottore took pole, but after a bad start he had to drop back from seventh place while Nicky finished second. And on the way back he crashed on the fifth lap. Although he returned to the race, he did not finish higher than 13th. In his third Hayden finished taking the World Cup by 5 points.

2

2013 Marc Marquez

The beginner Marc Márquez and former two-time champion Jorge Lorenzo arrived at Cheste thirteen points ahead of one from Cervera who only needed to finish fourth. Lorenzo slowed the race down to try to block the drivers, but he couldn’t shake off the rookie’s nerves and eventually gave up and won ahead of Pedrosa and Marc Márquez.

3

2015 Jorge Lorenzo

Valentino Rossi He returned to the final race with the advantage, seven points ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, but was handicapped by a penalty for unsporting behavior in the previous race at Sepang against Marc Márquez which forced him to start late. He moved up to fourth position, but it wasn’t enough. Jorge Lorenzo beat the Repsol Hondas of Marc Márquez and Dani Pedrosa, winning the race and taking the title by 5 points. Years later, Marc admitted that he never thought of passing Lorenzo to ‘hand’ the title to Rossi after what he did to him in Sepang.

4

2017 Marc Marquez

Marc Márquez arrived with a comfortable lead of 21 points over Andrea Dovizioso. The Ducati rider was bound to win and Marc only needed 11th. Marc always had the crown and with six laps to go the two Ducatis crashed, Lorenzo first and then Dovizioso. The appointment is still remembered for the ‘mapping 8’ they sent to the Mallorcan, but it was useless. Marc also had to salvage a fall looking for victory and ended up third.

5

2020 Joan Mir

In his first match-ball Joan Mir He won the first crown for Suzuki in 20 years in the second of the races in Valencia during the pandemic 2020. Joan is confident of himself in the penultimate event of the year and can give up to 11 points to his two pursuers Quartararo and Rinse. The Frenchman fell, Rins was fourth and Mir was good enough for seventh.

6

2022 Francesco Bagnaia

After a spectacular return to the table – he lost 91 points after the German GP – Bagnaia served his second match-ball at Cheste, which he reached with a 23-point advantage. He did the right thing and finished ninth and although Frenchman Fabio Quartararo was fourth, the result was enough.

1

2023 ????????????

Pecco Bagnaia will have two match-ball options on Saturday in the Sprint and on Sunday in the long race. He enters with a 21-point lead out of a possible 37 and has the most wins in his favor. To be champion on Saturday, it is enough to add four points more than Martín.