Tom Lüthi at the ValenciaGP: «important to take a chance and feel the limit.»

Tom Lüthi took the start for the final race of the season with heavy rain swamping the Ricardo Tormo Circuit for Valencia Grand Prix. Due to the heavy weather conditions, Lüthi failed to take the chequered flag.

The race was red flagged after 13 laps with both Morbidelli and Luthi unable to take the 14 lap re-start having crashed in the extreme conditions. Tom Lüthi completed the warm-up in 22nd and opened the race cautiously in the blinding spray and heavy traffic of the opening laps settling in 17th position. He had moved forward to 15th and a potential points finish when he fell at turn 12 on lap six.

The first race of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship will be held from March 8 to 10 at Losail in Qatar.

Tom Lüthi: (DNF)

The final race of the season ended little early but there were some positives because I could fight with and overtake some other riders. The crash was a sad moment but I had aquaplaning with the rear wheel and high-sided. The conditions were quite tricky and I was not the only one to crash like this. I didn’t score any points but I was determined to get the best out of this race so it was important to take a chance and feel the limit.