Andrea Dovizioso crossed the line in 1st in a soggy Valencia, whose race featured over 10 crashes. The Italian was the most resilient and cautious, finishing ahead of Alex Rins and a highly competitive Pol Espargaro. Amongst the top riders, both Rossi and Marquez crashed out.

Alex Rins emerged as the leader at the start, leaving Vinales, Dovizioso and Pol Espargaro behind. Suzuki’s own Spaniard managed to open up a wide gap to the pack since the very first lap. While Marquez was engaged in a thrilling battle for fourth against Pol Espargaro, Valentino Rossi performed an impressive recovery from P16 to P7 in two laps.

Maverick Vinales started following towards the back, as rain intensified, whereas Marquez jumped to third, but Pol Espargaro was glued to his bike. The Spaniard gambled on Medium tyres, whereas Pol Espargaro seemed to have more grip. Jack Miller crashed with 23 laps to go, gifting Rossi with P6. Danilo Petrucci crushed Alma Pramac’s hopes by falling at turn 13 a few laps later. The rain went on pouring down, which caused Luthi and Marquez to rule themselves out of the race as well. Marquez suffered a brutal highside at turn 9, with serious concerns on his shoulder once again.

Rossi benefitted from Marquez and Espargaro’s crash to advance to P3, when Iannone had to abandon his well-earned P5 due to his crash. Race leader Alex Rins stopped gaining ground on Dovizioso nearly halfway through, also Morbidelli and Pedrosa, respectively in 5^th and 6^th, displayed a competitive pace.

Maverick Vinales winded up in the gravel, as heavier rain came down, which later caused Morbidelli to prematurely end his race as well. With 14 laps to go, Bradley Smith crashed, leaving a total of 16 riders still in it. Alex Rins blundered while braking, letting Rossi and Dovizioso through, but the Ducati rider lifted up his arm. The race was therefore red-flagged due to adverse conditions and weather, triggering the rage amongst the 'fallen', who complained about the timing of the stoppage.

The race restarted in semi-damp conditions, with Alex Rins maintaining the lead ahead of Dovizioso and Rossi. Pol Espargaro charged to 4^th by overtaking Daniel Pedrosa, who had started in front of him. Dovizioso went full-attack on Rins and claimed the lead of the race, as Valentino Rossi kept himself very close in 3^rd.

Valentino Rossi made the move on Rins with 8 laps to go and started chasing down Dovizioso, but the rain came back again and swiftly made Rossi's recovery more difficult. Three laps later the Italian crashed at turn 12, promoting Rins and Pol Espargaro to podium finishes, ahead of Michele Pirro in 4th.
Daniel Pedrosa closed in P5, as his career draws to a close. Takaaki Nakagami finishes in 6th, ahead of Zarco, Smith, Bradl and Syahrin. Jorge Lorenzo did not make it to the top 10, ending his Ducati stint in P12.