The Ducati Team faces the last race of the season in Valencia

The Ducati Team returns to Europe after the four races in the east, where Andrea Dovizioso made two appearances on the podium in Thailand and Australia. Results that in some ways may seem less than expected, but that instead demonstrate the great growth of the Desmosedici GP in terms of competitiveness. With some of the top performances in Japan and Malaysia, the bike showed a consistent competitive step at Buriram, where in the pre-season tests it had not done so well, but especially at Phillip Island where it proved competitive throughout the weekend when in previous years the Australian track had created big problems for the Italian team.

With the Desmosedici GP in prime condition, Dovizioso faces this last race after having been reconfirmed vice-world champion in Sepang. So, for Andrea it will be a weekend with a little less pressure since he can focus exclusively on the race. Andrea will certainly do well in this last event of the season, finishing the year with a flourish. 

It will be Jorge Lorenzo's final race with Ducati, hoping that the Spaniard has recovered from the wrist injury that kept him out of the four races in the east. The two weeks separating Sepang and Valencia should be enough for him to recover and get back on the track so he can race on one of his favourite tracks.

Michele Pirro will also be in Valencia, as a wild card riding the Ducati Test Team bike.

As always, in the days following the race there will be a delicious preview of the next season, with all the teams involved in end-of-year test runs. It will be a chance to see Danilo Petrucci don the official colours for the first time and riding the Desmosedici GP, which will probably already be in its 2019 configuration. 

Named after Ricardo Tormo, the circuit has a very tortuous track situated inside a huge basin formed by the stands filled with Spanish fans. It doesn't have a lot of stretches, the motorcycles spending a lot of time on the lap managing the throttle. It is a circuit that therefore requires a very balanced chassis to allow competitive speeds in the corners.

As is now customary for the final race of the season, the fans in the Ducati Grandstand will cheer boist erously for the Ducati riders. Located in one of the most spectacular points of the track, just off curve 2, the grandstands will host local Ducatistas and Ducati fans from all over Europe who travel to Valencia to visit the city and enjoy the concluding appointment of the MotoGP season.