Valencia (Spain) (AFP) - Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi won the Valencia MotoGP on Sunday to bring the season to a close and cap a fine end to his year.

The 27-year-old sealed third place in the championship in the sprint on Saturday and, starting on pole, edged out Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse) to celebrate in style.

Bezzecchi also triumphed last weekend in Portugal as Aprilia sealed back-to-back Grand Prix victories for the first time.

The Italian’s third place also gave Aprilia their first top-three championship finish.

Marc Marquez, who did not race on Sunday because of injury, clinched his seventh world title with five events to spare in Japan in September, his brother Alex going on to seal second place overall in October.

“I had a lot of fun,” said Bezzecchi.

“It was tough but I am very, very happy for the work the team did. I can’t hope for a better way to finish the season and now we have to celebrate for sure.”

Last year’s race in Valencia was cancelled because of the deadly flooding which hit the region, with fans happy to be able to welcome back the event this season.

Fernandez overtook sprint winner Alex Marquez on the 12th lap to move up to second, still more than a second behind Bezzecchi.

On his Ducati, Fabio Di Giannantonio pipped Pedro Acosta (KTM) to third.

“I dedicate this podium to my parents,” said Fernandez.

“I’m very grateful to finish the year like this… the bike is doing well and we’re getting the full potential out of it.”

Francesco Bagnaia, MotoGP champion in 2022 and 2023, finished a bitterly disappointing season early following contact caused by Johann Zarco on the first lap.

The French Honda rider was issued a long lap penalty as Bagnaia, who finished fifth in the championship, headed back to the pits.

Aprilia’s Jorge Martin, competing in his first Grand Prix since a collarbone fracture at the Japanese Grand Prix in September, also left the race early as he had indicated he would on Saturday.

The 2024 champion, having served a double long lap penalty at the start, finished his injury-hit campaign after completing 15 laps, to conserve energy before testing next week.

“Aprilia Racing has decided to withdraw Jorge Martin from the race as a precaution,” said his team in a statement.

Before the race began Franco Morbidelli clipped the back of Aleix Espargaro’s bike as he headed to his place on the grid.

The Italian started in the pit lane and retired because of an injured hand, suffering a fracture, which will keep him out of testing on Tuesday when serious planning for the 2026 pre-season begins.