As we prepare for the final MotoGP race of 2019, we already know who won the riders’ and manufacturer’s championships — Marc Marquez and Honda. However, the team championship remains in play, as Ducati leads Repsol Honda by just two points. Marquez picked up 395 points in the first 18 races of the season, breaking the record that Jorge Lorenzo had held, and this is his sixth championship in seven years. To understand Marquez’s dominance, Repsol Honda as a team has 401 points — and he has all but six of them. Takaaki Nakagami got the other six at the Austin race. Honda is looking to complete their fifth triple crown (rider, manufacturer and team titles) since they started their run in 2013. Some other intrigue still in play involves the third-place finisher in the riders’ standings, as Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso have locked up first and second. We have the 2019 Valencia MotoGP odds as well as thoughts about the course and the contenders.
2019 Valencia MotoGP Odds, Preview & Predictions
What can we expect from the final round of the season? ⚔️ Follow the #ValenciaGP 🏁 in full with #VideoPass: https://t.co/k3nmoyQUVp pic.twitter.com/gWH8Z07tao
— MotoGP™ 🇪🇸 (@MotoGP) November 15, 2019
Rider Odds to Win the 2019 Valencia MotoGP
- Marc Marquez 11/10
- Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Vinales 4/1
- Andrea Dovizioso 12/1
- Alex Rins 14/1
- Valentino Rossi 20/1
- Franco Morbidelli 25/1
- Jack Miller 28/1
- Danilo Petrucci, Cal Crutchlow 75/1
- Johann Zarco, Joan Mir 150/1
- Jorge Lorenzo, Pol Espargaro 300/1
- Michele Pirro 325/1
- Aleix Espargaro, Francesco Bagnaia 500/1
- Sylvain Guintoli 1000/1
- Andrea Iannone 2000/1
- Tito Rabat, Karel Abraham, Mika Kallio 3000/1
- Iker Lecuona, Hafizh Syahrin 4000/1
The Course
The course at Valencia runs 27 laps with a total of 378 corners on the day, as this track is one of the most complex with respect to turns. This often leads to a legion of mishaps in the finale to the season. This course is also one of the shortest, and with the turns making it so difficult to build and sustain feed, the average speed here is just over 161 km/hour.
The weather in Valencia is supposed to be dry and clear, but the temperatures will be cold and there will be high winds. This means that the race should go much more smoothly than it did in 2018, when the rains came and riders crashed all over the place. Alex Rins held the lead until a late crash and ended up settling for second place behind Andrea Dovizioso. Pol Espargaro took the third slot on the podium, holding off a ferocious comeback attempt from Marc Marquez. One factor that the high winds will bring is that the tires will lose temperature on their right side, so Michelin is bringing asymmetric front tires for use in the race.
The race and qualifying lap records at Valencia have stood since 2016, when Jorge Lorenzo set them for Yamaha. The top speed record, 335.9 km/hour, is held by Andrea Iannone, who set it for Ducati back in 2015.
Who Should You Keep an Eye Out For?
Some intriguing stories down the odds list include Johann Zarco, finishing the season as a substitute. If he can show his worth, he should get the chance to continue his MotoGP career in 2020. He started with a great deal of promise in the early going in 2017.
Another fun rider to watch will be Jack Miller, who needs to have a tremendous race to win the independent riders’ title. He is way behind Fabio Quartararo, but if he wins the race and Quartararo does not crack the top 15, he would take that title.
Who could snag the third spot on the riders’ championship podium? Alex Rins is in the running, but he would need to beat Maverick Vinales by at least eight points to swipe that spot from him.
So while Marquez is the favorite, once again, to win the race, there are a lot of people entering the race with a lot more to ride for than what he has in terms of motivation. Quite a few of those other riders offer significantly more value as well. I’m looking at Rins and Vinales, dueling for that third spot on the podium, and also possibly Miller, who needs to charge hard to take an improbable independent title.
