125: Terol celebrates last-ever 125GP title

Nicolas Terol savours his 125GP title glory, the last of its kind before it becomes Moto3 in 2012.
Terol fans, 125 race, Valencia MotoGP 2011
Terol fans, 125 race, Valencia MotoGP 2011
© Gold and Goose

Nicolas Terol will go down in history as the final champion of the 125GP class after his run to second place in Spain was more than enough to seal title glory.

The Bankia Aspar rider has led the championship from the outset, his four wins in the opening five races proving enough to break the opposition, even if the ultra-consistent Johann Zarco kept the title fight alive to the final round.

Nonetheless, the Frenchman's early crash decided the title in Terol's favour regardless of his result, the Spaniard going on to delight the home crowd by finishing second position.

"I am the happiest man in the world right now. It's hard to take in that we have finally won the title. I have had to work very hard for many years to make this dream reality, but I'm on cloud nine now that we have done it. This weekend was a tough one, because there was always the rain factor to take into account, but in the end everything went well in the race and it was relatively simple.

"As yesterday's session was such a strange one, there were a lot of nervous riders at the head of the field for the start of the race. I thought that maybe a crash was on the cards at times, and I wasn't sure whether to really push or not. When I saw that Zarco was out, I started to enjoy the race more. I had such positive thoughts going round in my head that I managed to distract myself. I wanted to win, but we were using the soft tyres and they were rather worn by the end.

"The title is finally ours and I believe that we deserve it more than anyone following some bad luck at races at Assen and Brno. It is a real honour to take the title at the track where I grew up as a rider, in front of the home fans.

"This has been the year in which I have slept the least in my life! It was hard for me to sleep last night and nerves have played a part in some of the previous races, but wins like those at Indianapolis, Misano and Arag?n boosted my morale and reminded me that I could lead the way in this class. I dedicate this title to my family, my manager, the fans and of course the BANKIA Aspar team -especially to Jorge, for having given me the chance to ride for him."

Terol, who has participated in the 125GP class since 2005, becomes the last person to win a 125GP title before it transforms into Moto3 for 2012.

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