Fabio Quartararo’s hopes of retaining his MotoGP title ended on Sunday after fighting for fourth in the Valencia GP. With a win the Frenchman’s only chance of salvaging his championship aspirations in the final race of 2022, Quartararo launched from the second row but was immediately swallowed up by the leading group as Alex Rins took charge out front.
An early on-track battle with title-rival Pecco Bagnaia saw the pair make contact before he settled into a rhythm in the top five.
A lap ten crash for Marc Marquez promoted the Monster Energy Yamaha rider to fourth before Brad Binder arrived on the KTM, dropping him back.
A late crash for Jack Miller five laps before the finish returned him to best of the rest but the gap to the podium sitters remained too great to bridge in the closing stages.