Aleix Espargaró took home another top-ten placement, closing out the Valencia race in ninth place after a thrilling battle with teammate Iannone, who crashed on the final lap, and finishing ahead of his brother Pol. After starting from the fifteenth spot on the grid, Aleix skilfully moved his way up through the pack, thanks in part to a few crashes, until battling for the spots just outside the top ten. In the end, he gained the upper hand against his brother Pol, taking ninth place.

Andrea rode a great race. After starting twentieth, he quickly moved up until catching the Espargaró brothers, then moving into the lead of the trio battling for ninth before crashing out just a few turns from the end, when a double top-ten finish seemed imminent for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini. The satisfaction remains of having progressing from the opening sessions to a race far beyond what had seemed possible at the beginning of the weekend.

As per tradition, the final race of the world championship was a special occasion for Aprilia Racing and the Piaggio Group. The RS-GP machines entered the race in the totally red (RED) livery in support of the organisation founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver in 2006 to combat the spreading of HIV. In the last three years, the Piaggio Group’s collaboration with (RED) has ensured more than one million days of treatment for the prevention of hidden transmission of the virus from mothers to children.