Dovizioso was outclassed by team-mate Dani Pedrosa in his maiden season with the Repsol Honda team this year, finishing 74 points behind the Spaniard.

The Italian silenced his critics with a superb ride to victory in the rain at Donington Park, but that was as good as his season got, with no further podiums achieved.

The 23-year-old finished fourth on no less than six occasions, however, indicating that he was usually there or thereabouts in the races, but Nakamoto has warned he needs to deliver on his promise to justify his place in the team.

“We need something more from him,” Nakamoto told www.motorcyclenews.com.

“I’m a little bit disappointed by his results. He has the talent but he’s not been able to use it.”

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The drama started before the race had even commenced, as pole position holder Casey Stoner’s high-side crash on the warm-up lap meant he was unable to take his place on the grid. That allowed Pedrosa to lead the charge from his position on the front row, and after taking the first corner in the lead the Repsol Honda rider never relinquished it, sealing third spot in the overall standings in the process.

World Champion Valentino Rossi followed the Spaniard home in second place, finishing 2.630s behind Pedrosa as he ended his title-winning season with his 13th podium of the campaign.

The Italian’s Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who did well to hold onto his bike when a moment on the opening lap almost threw him off, was a further 0.283s behind as he took third, having already sealed second spot in the Championship by virtue of Stoner’s non-start.

The Australian ended the season in fourth place overall, with Colin Edwards’ fourth place in the race allowing him to snatch fifth in the 2009 standings from Andrea Dovizioso.

The top five on the day was completed by Stoner’s Ducati Marlboro team-mate Nicky Hayden, who held off the challenge of Toni Elías as the Spaniard came in sixth in his final race with the San Carlo Honda Gresini team.

Wildcard rider Ben Spies rode to an impressive seventh-placed finish, and in depriving Dovizioso of that spot – the Italian finished eighth – played a direct role in helping his future Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team-mate Edwards take fifth in the Championship.

There were also top-ten finishes for Rookie of the Year Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) and Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini).

MotoGP Valencia Race Results:
1. Dan Pedrosa (Honda) 46:47.553
2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) +2.630
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) +2.913
4. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) +32.515
5. Nicky Hayden (Ducati) +34.585
6. Toni Elias (Honda) +34.888
7. Ben Spies (Yamaha) +37.706
8. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) +38.364
9. Mika Kallio (Ducati) +42.491
10. Alex De Angelis (Honda) +43.689
11. Randy De Puniet (Honda) +46.018
12. James Toseland (Yamaha) +50.226
13. Aleix Espargaro (Ducati) +57.168
14. Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) +1′06.877
15. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) +1′11.701

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Source: MotoGp

The Spanish star, who has a good record at Valencia, was just under half a second off pace man Casey Stoner’s hot lap of 1’32.813 in the hour-long opening practice and also trailed fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo on the timesheet. He later explained that a race victory in front of the home fans to end the season would mean more to him than overcoming Stoner in the standings at the final round of the 2009 season.

”For a first practice session, this was OK today and we completed some valuable laps to familiarise ourselves with this circuit again,” said the man from Barcelona. “It was really windy out there and this affected the machine more in some corners than others – like in the third sector where it was quite difficult to control the bike. Still, we have time to solve this tomorrow. Also, it’s good that we got used to the windy conditions because it looks like we’ll have them for the whole weekend.”

“The track surface was not totally clean,” Pedrosa continued. “But actually the grip was good and the Bridgestone tyres were working well. There’s a gap to the riders in front and we need to make some improvements for tomorrow so that we’ve got the best chance of qualifying well. I really want to win this race – it’s more important to me than finishing third in the championship – so we need to work really hard to give us a good chance on Sunday.”

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Source: MotoGp