It may seem like yesterday that the 2012 season opened with a roar under the lights of Qatar but already the series wraps up for another year this weekend at Valencia. Four kilometres of freshly relaid track await the riders at the Comunidad Valenciana circuit, now the traditional stage for the season's curtain call. The eighteenth and final round of the season is the fourth on Spanish soil and with Jorge Lorenzo already crowned World Champion and Dani Pedrosa confirmed as the runner-up it looks set to be a veritable fiesta for the home crowd.
The POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar Team races at its home track with Aleix Espargaró leading his team-mate Randy De Puniet in the chase for the first ever CRT 'title' by eleven points. The Spaniard knows it would take a remarkable result to turn their positions around in the final race but he is determined to work with the same focus that has served him so well so far this season. The Frenchman, meanwhile, knows that nothing is over in racing until the chequered flag waves and until that happens on Sunday afternoon he will be giving maximum effort as always.
Aleix Espargaró:
“I am really looking forward to arriving at Valencia and I hope we can have a good weekend to finish the year off. We are in good form and have finished the last four races as the top CRT so we have to keep going like this until the final push. It is another home race for me and in particular my team. Hopefully we can finish the season as the top CRT ahead of my team-mate Randy but I will need to work hard all weekend and not make any mistakes. Obviously the objective is to finish the race and the championship as the top CRT rider. My team-mate is very strong though so we can't slack off until it is over. I think if we do it we will deserve it because we have won nine of the fourteen races we have finished.”
Randy De Puniet:
“This is an important race for my team, who are based in Valencia, so I hope we can have a good weekend. It is not a particularly quick circuit, which I usually prefer, but I like the Comunidad Valenciana track and I find it interesting. I have been told that they have resurfaced the track, which is a good thing for sure, and now it should have more grip. I am looking forward to riding and seeing how our recent improvements shape up there. Hopefully the weather will be kind to us and we can have a nice weekend to finish the season off. Everybody in the team is highly motivated about this one and the clear objective is to finish the season in the best way possible. The aim is to finish this race as the best CRT – it's a bit late to try and beat my team-mate in the championship but anything can happen in racing so we have to make sure we do our best and finish the season on a high note.”
Power Electronics Aspar Press Release
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