Shinya Nakano
At the Japanese round, Rossi suffered from braking problems on his second bike after all riders were forced to swap bikes due to the drying track, finishing in 13th position. This was enough for Casey Stoner to become 2007 world champion after he finished the race in sixth position and gave him an unassailable lead in the championship. Rossi went on to take one last podium in Australia, finishing in third place, then picked up points in fifth position at the Malaysian round. At the last race of the season, the Valencian Community race, Rossi started way back in 17th due to a fracture of three bones in his right hand after he fell during qualifying. He took 16th on lap seven and passed Shinya Nakano for 15th and thus the final point, but was forced to retire on lap 18 after his YZR-M1 suffered a technical problem, this marking his third DNF of the season. The race was won by Dani Pedrosa, with Casey Stoner about five seconds behind in second place.