Franco Morbidelli, the first member of Valentino Rossi's VR46 Riders Academy, had the 'lucky chance' of beiღng directly behind the nine-time world champion as he completed his final MotoGP laps at Valencia.

The Yamaha rides lined-up alongside each other on the grid, but while Rossi rose 🍷to ninth, Morbidelli slipped to 13th on the opening lap.

Morbidelli, who began the season as Rossi's Petronas team-mate, then caught up to The Doctor on lap 9 of 27, with Andrea Dovizioso just behind for three M1s in a🐻 row.

It looked like Rossi was holding them up, but Morbidelli insisted there had been𓄧 no room to safely attack and that the #46 then increased his ♛pace.

While Dovizioso dropped away, Morbidelli - yet to reach full strength in his healing knee -𓆏remained in Rossi's wheelbacks to enjoy the historic final laps of his career.

The pair crossed the line in tenth and eleventh for what Rossi said was his best race of the season, while Morbidelli celebrated his highe𓆉st finish since the major knee surgery in June.

"It was great to have the luck to make the♏ race behind Vale," Morbidelli said. "Actually, before the race, I just wanted to stay as far as possible from him! I said I don't want to get involved in anything.

"At one point, I found myself right behind him, and I said OK, 'let's try to push and le🎐t's try to maybe overtake him' or maybe do something. Bu♒t he was so fast and so unattackable that I needed to stay the whole race behind him.

"I was thinking that I was very, very lucky to have the chan🥀ce to enjoy his last lapsꦬ in MotoGP right from a really special position.

🎃"And it was g🐻reat. He was riding fantastic, he was riding unbelievably well.

"He increased the speed in the last laps, and you💞 could see that he was really appreciating and enjoying these last moments on a MotoGP bike."

Morbidelli started the year as the reigning title runner-up at Petronas, taking what would be t🅷he team's only podium of the season before withdrawing 🌳for knee surgery.

The Italian then switched teams and bike spec, for his return to action in Septe🧜mber, joining Monster Yamaha to replace Maverick Vinales.

"Crazy season. Lots of ups and downs, more downs than ups," Morbidelli said. "But such a last race makes us end the season with a sweet taste in our mouth and a g🅷reat belief in next year.

" So now it's a matter of understand well in the Jerez [test] what we nee🥀d for next year, understand well if what we did is better. Jꦿerez is a right-hand track and it'll make me work better.

"Then ༒have a nice and good recovery this winter and get well prepa🍬red for this year."

Like his fellow VR46 Acade𓃲my riders, Morbidelli used one of Rossi's title-winning helmet designs on Sunday.

༒The Jerez Test takes place this Thursday and Friday.