Mir dominates Valencia warm-up, Rossi P16 heading into final race

Joan Mir topped MotoGP warm-up ahead of this afternoon’s Valencia Grand Prix, while Valentino Rossi was P16 ahead of his final ever race.

After undergoing further checks prior to warm-up getting underway, Pol Espargaro was ruled out of action following his brutal FP3 crash at turn 13. 

Only 12 riders completed flying laps inside the first eight minutes with Suzuki’s Mir fastest. 

Mir led from local rider Iker Lecuona, while Monster Energy Yamaha duo Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo were third and fourth. 

Takaaki Nakagami, who’s had a knack for topping warm-up sessions in 2021, then moved towards the sharp end after going second behind Mir.

Pole sitter for today’s final race of the year, Jorge Martin, was the last rider to complete a lap which came with five minutes left.  

Alex Rins made it a Suzuki 1-2 after getting a nice tow from factory Ducati rider Jack Miller. 

Several riders looked set to challenge Mir’s top time late on, however, the 2020 world champion’s final two sectors were enough to keep him fastest. 

Nakagami did manage to split the two Suzuki riders though, while Francesco Bagnaia led a Ducati 4-5 from Pramac’s Johann Zarco. 

Enea Bastianini, Quartararo, Brad Binder, Martin and Maverick Vinales rounded out the top ten. 

VR46 academy riders Francesco Bagnaia and Franco Morbidelli were spotted with special helmets in homage to Valentino Rossi who will retire from MotoGP after today’s ValenciaGP.