Fiat Yamaha Team's Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo (Photo: Yamaha Racing)
PROGRAMMING NOTE: The MotoGP season finale from Valencia will air on SPEED on Sunday, November 8th at 6:00pm ET, immediately following coverage of the 250GP race.
While the traditional fireworks following the MotoGP World Championship finale at Valencia will celebrate the incomparable Valentino Rossi's ninth world crown, this weekend's contest is perhaps more about looking ahead than looking back.
Even with the championship already decided, a fascinating 'preview battle' is shaping up with the sport's four 'aliens' (Rossi, his Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo, '07 champion Casey Stoner, and Honda leading man Dani Pedrosa) sharing the racetrack with invading 'alien-to-be' Ben Spies, who's looking to fire a warning shot fresh from his storming of World Superbike.
Ultimately anticlimactic, the 2009 MotoGP season appeared to be a classic in the making in the early going. Rossi, Lorenzo, and Stoner looked to be evenly matched, while Pedrosa was expected to join in the fun once he had fully recovered from his preseason injuries.
However, those hopes fell through: Stoner was struck down by illness, Lorenzo eventually collapsed due to combination of inexperience and over exuberance, and Rossi again rose to the top thanks to his trademark consistent brilliance.
But already the feeling is things may not be so one-sided come 2010.
