Dunlop takes 18th place in 250 GP

William Dunlop secured a wildcard ride for the Valencia round

William Dunlop produced a creditable ride to finish in 18th place, one lap down, in the final world 250cc grand prix in Valencia on Sunday.

Dunlop started from last place on the grid on row seven but finished eight seconds ahead of grand prix regular, Hungarian Imre Tore, in the race.

Dunlop's PJ Flynn Honda was always at a disadvantage on the long straights.

"I'm over the moon to have finished the race. That was my goal from the moment I qualified on Saturday," said Dunlop.

The 24-year-old had secured a wildcard ride for the final round of the series, which was a 27-lap race.

"I knew that I was on the same sort of lap times as Imre Toth in practice and qualifying and was prepared to try and hang onto him during the race.

"I think I was 23rd from lap two until lap eleven before I moved in front of Toth, but I made a big mistake on lap 17 which saw my lap time drop by almost six seconds, so I lost a lot of time there.

"I just tried to hold onto my advantage over Toth, and not do anything silly for the remainder of the race.

"The lap charts show just how much of a power disadvantage I had, so with that in mind, I'm really very happy with this result.

"I have learnt a lot this weekend and I will now have a serious look at what I do in 2010 - it's been a wonderful experience," he added.