Nicky Hayden from Owensboro, Kentucky, USA became the last champion of the 990cc MotoGP era at Valencia, Spain today. Hayden was trailing Valentino Rossi by 8 points coming to this race. And things were not looking for Hayden - Rossi was on pole while Hayden could only manage 5th in qualifying.

But when the lights went out for the Race, Rossi made a very poor start while Hayden got the jump on him. By the end of the first lap Rossi was down in 8th place or thereabouts while Hayden moved up to 3rd. A lap later Hayden went up to 2nd, just ahead of his teammate Dani Pedrosa. By this time Rossi was in 7th place just behind Casey Stoner, and just didn't seem to be in his usual form - struggling to get past the riders in front.

Then, on lap 5 Rossi, just slid out of the track after his front tire slid out from under him. He managed to remount his bike, but down in 20th place and out of the points. After this point in the race, it was basically game over for Rossi. Nicky Hayden finished the race in 3rd spot, collecting 16 points while Rossi could only manage a 13th place and 3 points. In the end Hayden won the championship by just 5 points.

If Rossi had won the previous race, today's result would mean that Hayden and Rossi would be level on points but Rossi will take the title due to his higher win rate - the exact scenario I wished for in my previous blog in this category. But that wasn't to be and we have a new MotoGP World Champion, Nicky Hayden.

Congratulations to Hayden (from a Rossi fan). He worked hard this year for the championship and in the end he had a little bit more luck, and points, than his competitors; so full credits to him.

Today Rossi showed us that he's human. I never expected him to crack under pressure like that.

From next year the MotoGP bikes will become 800cc machines instead of the current 990cc formula.

Update: Rossi gracious in defeat, and some insight into why his performance at Valencia was below par. Read his post-race interview here.