Laying it all on the line.

With the MotoGP Riders Championship coming down to the final round at Valencia (Rd18) this weekend after 17 races. Fans are waiting on the edge of their seats to see the reigning World Champion take on the 20-year-old upstart sensation. With the two biggest Factory efforts going head-to-head, it's Yamaha Factory Racing against the Repsol HRC Team. Yamaha and their pilot, Jorge Lorenzo (#99), are going into the weekend with their back against the wall. The Repsol HRC Team and their Young-Gun, Marc Marquez (93), are going into the main event with a 13 point lead. But if history has a say in anything, it remembers the last time it came down to the last round at Valencia in 2006. Then, Hayden, 25, enjoyed a 51-point advantage over Rossi, 27, in the standings after his victory at the US Grand Prix in Laguna Seca (Rd11) in July, with the Italian clawing his way back to bring it down to the last round at Valencia, and leading the championship by 8 points. All be it, Rossi, had some help from Hayden's teammate at the previous round and with Hayden, receiving an helping hand from Toni Elias. The 2006 MotoGP season was one of the closest battles and most thrilling in recent memory in which Honda's, Nicky Hayden, didn't claim the championship from Yamaha's, Valentino Rossi, until that final race. If you don't know the whole story of 2006, it's one a race fan should defiantly dive into.

Enough on 2006, cause we have a title fight this weekend at Valencia and there's enough history from the last few rounds to fill pages. Many thought the 2013 title was decide two rounds ago at Phillip Island, but a black flag shot down Honda and the 'El Tro de Cervera', title hopes in Australia. Then they arrived at Motegi, only to have a determined 'X Fuera', on a Yamaha, steal their thunder from them at their home track in Japan. So, we're left to contemplate if history can be made this coming weekend with Marquez, possibly becoming the youngest rider ever to take home the World Championship since the American, Freddy Spencer, took it aboard a Honda NS500, by just 2 points in 1983, at the age of 23. One thing is for sure, if #93's going to take that title, he better be prepared for an old wild-west showdown. Cause, Lorenzo, he's got plenty of fight in him! Which he's proven battle after battle and as long as #99 thinks he's got a shot at that coveted title, he'll be ultra focused going into this weekends shootout at Valencia to try to take it down to the last lap of whats been a remarkable season.

Jorge Lorenzo on this coming weekends GP:
“So we come to the last race in Valencia. It’s going to be exciting, maybe the most exciting of all the season. We are still in the fight and that is the most important thing right now. I’m very stimulated because three races ago we thought the championship was over. Instead we have a chance to fight for the title. Valencia is my home race and it will be very emotional considering our position in the classification. We don’t have anything to lose but everything to win, and this card plays on our side. Maybe our main rival can feel much more pressure in Valencia than us because he is so close to victory. I look forward to riding there and pushing with all my force. If we can continue to ride at our level we can fight for the win and then wait for the circumstances. You never know what can happen, especially if the forecast is uncertain as it was last year. We trust in ourselves and we expect a good race in front of our fans. We will never give up until the end!”