TAKA’S HOPES HIT BY GRID PENALTY AT VALENCIA GRAND PRIX

Takaaki Nakagami put in another encouraging display in qualifying for the Valencia Grand Prix, but will start the final MotoGP race of the season from the back of the field after receiving a grid penalty from race direction. The LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider again improved throughout the day, but was handed a three-place grid penalty for an incident in FP3, meaning he will start from 24^th  position.

The Japanese star improved his overnight time by more than half a second in FP3, despite a fall, ending the session in 19th position. But he would later be punished for impeding Jorge Martin on the racing line, meaning that his 11^th place in Q1 was downgraded and he will start Sunday’s race from the back of the eighth row.