MotoGp: Valencia GP cancelled. Bagnaia in favour of the decision

'MotoGp will not race in Valencia, but for Valencia'. In a lengthy communiqué, the organisers of the MotoGP World Championship announced the cancellation of the Valencia Grand Prix, the traditional closing round of the championship, due to the damage caused by the flooding that hit several regions of Spain, starting with the Valencian Community.

Italian rider Francesco Bagnaia spoke in favour of this choice. "I am not willing to race in Valencia, even at the cost of losing what is my ultimate goal, which is to win the world title," said the two-time world champion with the Ducati Lenovo Team, who launched a clear message from the Sepang circuit: after the tragedy of the flooding in the Spanish city, the season-ending GP should not be held there. "I don't think it's right, I really hope they will consider that on an ethical level and what is happening, to go and race there is not the right thing. Even at the cost of losing the world championship, I am not willing to go there.

His rival, Spaniard Jorge Martin, is more cautious: "It is important that everyone knows. For now I am racing as if there is another race, whether it is Valencia or elsewhere, because that is probably what will happen," he said. "I want to win and if I have the opportunity, I will do it.

Meanwhile, Bagnaia was the fastest on the Sepang track. After free practice on the Italian night, he also finished in the lead in pre-qualifying at the Sepang circuit with a time of 1:57.670, edging out Martin, his rival in the race for the world title, who slipped at the end, in second in 1:57.729. Third time for Enea Bastianini, Marc Marquez also in Q2. Andrea Iannone, making his return to MotoGP to replace Fabio Di Giannantonio in the last two races of the season, after finishing ninth in free practice, finished with the penultimate time.