MotoGP GP of Valencia – Ricardo Tormo
Reale Avintia Racing team riders Xavier Simeon and Jordi Torres head to the Ricardo Tormo Circuit this weekend for the last round of the 2018 MotoGP World Championship, the Grand Prix of Valencia.
For Xavier Simeon it will be a very special weekend, because it will be the last one in MotoGP class before his new adventure in the FIM MotoE Cup next season. Simeon will rider the Ducati GP17 of Tito Rabat again, the same bike he raced to score points at the Australian Grand Prix. The 29-year-old Belgian rider is keen to score more points in his farewell of the premier class.
Jordi Torres heads to Valencia far from being in best shape, after undergoing surgery to set the fracture in the metacarpal bone of his left thumb last week. However, the work done by Dr. Mir has been fantastic and the Spanish rider hopes to be competitive in his last race with the team.
The MotoGP action will start with FP1 on Friday at 9:55 am. The race is scheduled for Sunday at 2:00 pm.
“Valencia will be a very exciting and special Grand Prix for me, because it will be my last one in MotoGP. Tito hasn’t recovered enough to compete at this race, but I hope he can make a strong comeback at the test next week. Being able to ride the GP17 again this weekend is an important opportunity for me, because in the last few races, we improved a lot with the bike and I hope to continue in the same line in Valencia. I want to finish my MotoGP career in the best possible way on a circuit that I like a lot and I want to enjoy every minute of this weekend.”
“I look forward to racing in Valencia. It is the last of the year and it is our home Grand Prix, which makes it very special. It’s a pity that I’ll be a little bit limited after the injury in Malaysia, but my thumb gets better every day and if we manage to modify the handlebar in a way that makes riding a bit easier, I think the weekend will go well. I want to thank Dr. Mir and his team, because my recovery was super fast. Valencia is a very technical circuit and I have always been fast on this track, even though I have not raced there in a long time.”
