Photo: Getty Images / Javier Soriano

If you haven’t heard or seen yet, Nicky Hayden won the MotoGP Championship today with his 3rd place finish at Valencia. As it turns out, Rossi didn’t figure into it after he crashed on lap 5. The big surprise was the 1-2 finish of the Ducati’s which looked very strong. Congrats to Troy Bayliss! Speed has the details if you need more-

American rider Nicky Hayden scored a deserving and emotional victory in the MotoGP world championship with a third place finish in today’s Valencia Grand Prix.

The race was won by superbiker Troy Bayliss who scored a career-first GP victory to lead home teammate Loris Capirossi for a 1-2 result for the Ducati team.

In a dramatic conclusion to the 17-race championship, Hayden claimed the title before 129,000 fans at sun-baked Valencia track, in a race that ended the championship domination of Valentino Rossi.

Hayden’s winning margin was five points over Yamaha rival Rossi, who lost any chance when he crashed on lap five of the 30-lap race. Rossi remounted and bravely finished 13th as Hayden, riding an aggressive but controlled race, cruised home behind Bayliss and Capirossi.

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