MotoGP Japanese Riders' Race [Round 22, Valencia GP] Ai Ogura Crashes Out of Final Race, Retires. Taiyo Kozato finishes 3rd in his last Moto3 race.

The 22nd round of MotoGP, the Valencia GP, was held at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Spain from November 14 to 16. The Valencia GP is the final round of the 2025 MotoGP season. For the past 20 years or so, the final round has been held mainly at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia. However, last year, due to the flooding that hit Valencia, the final round was moved to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Therefore, it was the first time in two years that the event was held at the Circuit de la Ricardo Tormo. This season, Marc Marquez (Ducati Renovo Team) and Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) have won the championship in the MotoGP class at the Japanese GP and in the Moto3 class at the Indonesian GP, respectively. The only championship contender to be brought into the final round was the Moto2 class. It was a duel between Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) and Manuel Gonzalez (Liquimori Dynavolt Intact GP), and after Sunday's race, Moreira was crowned the first Brazilian champion in history. In 2026, Moreira will step up to the MotoGP class and compete for Honda LCR. In the MotoGP class, Miguel Oliveira (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) and Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda LCR) were the last to race. Oliveira and Chantra will move to the Superbike World Championship (SBK) next season. On race day, November 16, Yamaha also announced that it will race the 2026 season with a V4 engine. Augusto Fernandez (Yamaha Factory Racing Team) made a wild card entry in the Valencia GP with a V4 prototype machine. How did the Japanese riders fare in the final round of the 2025 season?

Ai Ogura's first-lap accident set her back

Ai Ogura (TrackHouse MotoGP Team) finished the afternoon practice session in 5th position and advanced directly to Q2 for the fourth time this season. In the middle of the practice session, he suffered a crash, but the reason for the crash was that he "just put the front between the zebra and the track, and that's how I got cut off. Crashing tends to tail off a bit when Ogura falls, but this time it had no effect on him, as indicated by his 5th place time. Despite not liking the Ricardo Tormo circuit, Ogura got off to a good start on the first day. Ogura explained the reason for his good start: "To some extent, I was good from the start. I was able to gradually improve my pace. However, in Saturday's Q2, Ogura was unable to improve his time as much as he had expected. Ogura was 12th in Q2. In the sprint race, he finished 9th. Sunday's race was affected by an accident that occurred on the fourth corner of the first lap: Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) hit Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Renovo Team) entering the fourth corner, causing Bagnaia to fall. Ogura was right behind the accident and was forced to back off to avoid it. However, his pace was not bad: from 17th position down, Ogura moved up to 15th by lap 5. On lap 7, he crashed at the first corner, and Ogura was forced to retire from the final race. I lost a lot of positions (on the first lap), but I was feeling good," he said. I was trying to make up positions and was preparing to pass the rider in front of me in the next corner when I fell.

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Moto3 Sun Kozato Finishes on the Podium for the Third Straight Race

In the Moto3 class race, Taiyo Kozato (Honda Team Asia) made a strong showing. Furusato was 9th in Q2 and started the race from the third row. In the early laps of the race, he moved up to a podium position. I knew I had to make up a few positions at the beginning," she said. But I also thought there was no need to rush." Toward the end of the race, he was thinking about going for the lead. However, a close battle with Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) and Maximo Quilles (CFMOTO-Valresa-Aspar Team) ensued, and Kozato found himself in a battle for second place with not only Fernandez in front, but also Quilles. At the final corner with two laps to go, Quilles passed Furusato. Hoping to make a move on Fernandez in the final lap, Kozato passed Quilles in the first corner of the last lap to regain second position. However, she was unable to overtake Fernandez and finished the race in 2nd position. He overstepped the track limit (*the front or rear tire goes off the track) on the last lap and received a penalty of one position down, resulting in a final result of 3rd place. I knew it was going to be a one-on-one battle with Fernandez at the end. I had some time to spare and I thought I could still make it, but I was battling with Maximo and it got tough. （I thought I had to open the throttle to pass Fernandez, so I opened the throttle and it started to slide and went a little wide. Following his win in Malaysia and third place in Portugal, this was his third consecutive podium finish. However, he was not happy because he had hoped to win the race. It was a good result and I am happy, but I wanted to win the last race. For Kozato, this was his last race in the Moto3 class. In 2026, he will be racing in the Moto2 class with Idemitsu Honda Team Asia.

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Yuki Kunii bids farewell to the World Championship in Valencia

In the Moto2 class, Yuki Kunii (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) started 26th and finished 20th. This was Kunii's last race in the Moto2 class as he will be leaving the sport at the end of this season. Kunii said, "I rode in a position that didn't change much throughout the season, but I think this is probably the best I could do right now. Of course, I am not satisfied with the race until I win it, but I think it was a good experience for me." As for next season, he said, "As a rider, I still have a long way to go, so I will consider this as a step forward and do my best again in the next step. We will wait for further news.

Another Moto2 rider, Ayumu Sasaki (RW-Idoloforja Racing GP), crashed in Free Practice 1 on the morning of Day 1 and broke three parts of his right heel. He suffered three broken bones in his right heel after a fall during Free Practice 1 on the morning of the first day, and was forced to sit out. I wanted to run again on Saturday, but the doctor stopped me. It was not the season I wanted to have and I am very disappointed that I could not finish the season the way I wanted to. I know what I did wrong and where I need to improve on the bike. I will have surgery on my arm in the winter, and I hope to heal my leg and arm well, and then I will train a lot to be ready for next year. Moto3 class rider Ryusei Yamanaka (Frinsa-MT Helmets-MSI) missed the Portuguese GP due to an operation on the little finger of his left hand after the Malaysian GP. He missed the Portuguese GP and the Valencia GP due to surgery on his left pinky finger after the Malaysian GP. Yamanaka will continue to race Moto3 class next season with Furinsa-MT Helmets-MSI. Also following the Portuguese GP, Ryo Mitani joined Honda Team Asia. Mitani started the Valencia GP from 24th position and crashed on lap 14, retiring from the race. I couldn't make any pace at all in the beginning of the race," he said, "and I was fighting for the front of the pack (in 19th position) as I went through the laps. （There was a gap (at turn 11, where I crashed), but I knew that. I opened the throttle as usual, but I tried to pass the rider in front of me and started to cross the line, which caused me to behave more than usual and I crashed. I want to put more pressure on myself during the off-season and practice more," said Mitani. Next season, he will begin his rookie season in the Moto3 class of the World Road Racing Championship with Honda Team Asia.  (5)Go to[/gallery_btn3 ]