On Sunday the 2008 MotoGP season comes to a close at the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo in Valencia. All three Championships have been decided, with Italy’s own Valentino Rossi and Marco Simonchelli taking the MotoGP and 250cc World Championship honors respectively, while Frenchman, Mike Di Meglio wrapped up the 125cc Championship.

That being said, the show is far from over with all the teams looking to go into the crucial end of season test with bragging rights over their opposition, plus with a host of riders switching teams on the Monday there will be little time for celebrating or commiserating between the end of 2008 campaign and preparations for the 2009 season.

Outgoing World Champion, Casey Stoner will proudly display the number one plate for the final time on his GP8 at Valencia and the 2008 runner up will be looking to end the season on a high by claiming his sixth victory of the season. Casey plans to test the new GP9 in the two day test, before taking some time out for crucial wrist surgery before he begins his assault on regaining the title in 2009.

Dani Pedrosa will head into the off season with reason for optimism after a marked improvement with the Honda and tire package since Misano. Dani will be looking to head into his fourth season in the premier class once more as a serious title contender for the MotoGP crown which he will hope to add to his 3 World titles. (2 x 250cc World Championship, 1x 125cc World Championship)

For Nicky Hayden, it’s a case of one door closing and another one opening, as he finally brings to a close his association with Honda to join Ducati in 2009. Nicky has been like a man reborn since signing for Ducati, managing to score top five places in the last four races and he will look to extend that streak into this weekend at Valencia, a circuit where he won the MotoGP World Championship in 2006 for Repsol Honda. Nicky will get the opportunity to test the Ducati GP9 on the Monday and will be hoping to make a swift adaptation to the new bike to boost his confidence ahead of a hopeful title assault in 2009.

Toni Elias will also be moving down the paddock to return to Gresini Honda after a twelve month hiatus with Alice Ducati. Toni has had a mixed season after initially struggling to adapt to the Ducati GP8, however, a spirited mid season performance saw a variety of teams lining up to obtain his signature for the 2009 campaign. In the end Toni opted for a return to the familiar surroundings of the Gresini garage with the promise of a factory spec Honda RC212V for the duration of the season. With the same bike and tires as the factory team Toni will be looking to make a big impression in 2009.

After an extremely tough first season on the Kawasaki, John Hopkins will be hoping for a vast improvement as regards bike development over the winter, after he struggled to get the ZX-RR up to speed over 2008. John has had his fair share of bad luck throughout the campaign and will be hoping that the new season will bring a fresh approach for a more competitive Championship assault.

A new face to the MotoGP paddock for 2009 will be Finish rider Mika Kallio who will be making the step up from the 250cc World Championship. Mika has signed to ride for the Alice Ducati squad which Toni Elias will be vacating and he will be hoping for a solid start to his new career in the premier class in 2009.

The final MotoGP race of 2008 gets underway on Sunday at 2pm (CET)