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The season final of the MotoGP in Valencia this year was marked by an award ceremony where rider Valentino Rossi was honoured as bet qualifier and received the BMW M Award.

The BMW prize has been a feature of the MotoGP for six years and recognizes the fastest rider of the season and the fastest rider of all qualifying sessions.

Rossi added another BMW to his fleet of five that he has already won in the MotoGP BMW M Awards. This time the spirited Italian became the owner of a new BMW M3 GTS, which he immediately put through its paces with a few laps of the Valencia circuit.

It may seem unusual for a luxury car manufacturer to feature prominently at a race for two-wheelers, but the powerful M series cars have for some time been a regular feature at MotoGP.

This year the BMW X6 M acted as an escort for riders in the warm-up lap and the vehicle also doubled up as a speedy ambulance to provide emergency first aid for the motorcyclists.

The only rider to be more successful in the BMW M Award to date is Australian Casey Stoner, which prompted Rossi to comment at the award ceremony that this meant he still had a goal for next year.

Rossi was reportedly so impressed with the track performance of the BMW M3 GTS that he put in an order for a bespoke version of the car the minute he pulled into the pits.

BMW, like Rossi, must be grinning from ear to ear at the news.