Aprilia scored a 1-2 finish in the final race of the 2025 MotoGP season, with victory in the Valencia Grand Prix going to Marco Bezzecchi.
But factory Aprilia rider Bezzecchi was made to work hard for it by Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez, who worked his way up from fifth to second in the early laps before settling in behind the lead RS-GP.
Fernandez gradually whittled down Bezzecchi's lead in the final laps of the race, and was just four tenths of a second back to start the final lap, but could not close in enough to even entertain an overtake.
VR46 Ducati rider Fabio Di Giannantonio salvaged the manufacturer's streak of consecutive grand prix podium finishes dating back to 2021 by overtaking Pedro Acosta’s KTM late on.
For much of the race it looked like sprint winner Alex Marquez would keep that streak going, but Marquez dropped back - attacked first by Acosta and then by Di Giannantonio, before Di Giannantonio made the crucial podium-clinching move with a tidy lunge at Turn 4 on the penultimate lap.
Rookie Fermin Aldeguer picked off his Gresini team-mate Marquez for fifth at the final corner.
It was a messy race for Honda but it scored just enough points, with Luca Marini's seventh place, to move up to concession rank C next season - which means it will no longer be allowed in-season engine upgrades and testing with race riders.
But Honda had overwhelmingly welcomed that development - so will not be disheartened by Marini overtaking Jack Miller for the crucial position late on.
Miller also ceded ground to Brad Binder so came home ninth, while Enea Bastianini took 10th after fighting off Joan Mir.
Mir had dropped from seventh to 16th after serving his long lap for wiping out team-mate Marini yesterday. He ultimately finished 13h, beaten by Miguel Oliveira - in his final MotoGP race for now - and Johann Zarco in the closing stages.
Zarco had had to serve a long lap, too, one earned in the race on Sunday as he barrelled into Turn 5 at the start, punting Pecco Bagnaia into the gravel and into retirement via a slow-speed crash.
It meant Bagnaia was confirmed as only fifth in the standings at the end of what was a brutally disappointing season.
The Ducati factory team did score a point courtesy of Marc Marquez stand-in Nicolo Bulega, 15th for the second consecutive weekend.
In his final weekend as defending champion - and with a double long lap to serve - Jorge Martin prioritised not crashing above everything else, so immediately moved to the side off the start to ride around at the back for testing purposes, before parking up after 15 laps.
Fellow injury returnee Maverick Vinales was running in the points but his race ultimately ended the same way, with an exit after 23 laps.
Franco Morbidelli's season effectively ended before the start of the race in puzzling circumstances as, when coming up to the grid, he clattered into old arch-rival Aleix Espargaro's Honda just as Espargaro was doing a stoppie.
Unreal scenes before the start 🤯
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 16, 2025
Let's take a closer look at what happened between @AleixEspargaro and Morbidelli 👀#ValenciaGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/iU3oOk9en5
Morbidelli managed to wheel his damaged Ducati back into pitlane and took the start from there - but retired immediately and has now been diagnosed with a fractured left hand.
Espargaro also abandoned the race, though late on, while there were crashes for Fabio Quartararo and Ai Ogura.
