The Valencia round took place two weeks after the tragic Malaysia GP. After returning to Italy, Yuki participated in the funeral for his teammate, Marco Simoncelli, who lost his life in a freak accident. Memorial programs were broadcast for Simoncelli on Italian television and radio stations, driving home the loss of this talented rider. Yuki set off for Valencia determined to ride on Simoncelli's behalf as well.
In previous years, even if it rained during the qualifiers, it usually cleared up by the time of the final race, but this year the weather was bad throughout race week. Just when it looked like the rain had stopped, it began sprinkling again, never quite clearing up. Moreover, the temperature was also low, so jackets were a must.

It was under those unstable weather conditions that the first day got off to a start. Yuki came in 24th during the first free practice and moved up to 13th place in the second. Although he wasn't able to do as good as he had hoped, he had a good feeling. He was confident that he could win from Day One, because the reasons why he was not moving up were clear: he had been using rain tires while the other riders were using slick ones, and when the track was at its driest, he had failed to go on the attack.
During the official qualifiers, the weather was unstable, so Yuki decided to do his time attack right after the start of the session. He waited to go into the pit and pressed ahead with his time attack by himself, moving into 2nd place. The rain became heavier right after that, so he secured 2nd place on the grid in the front row.

On the day of the final race, it continued to sprinkle, and the weather remained unstable. A memorial ceremony was held for Simoncelli after the morning warm-up session, and Yuki renewed his resolve as he approached the grid. One of the mechanics told him to give it his best, and that is exactly what he planned to do.
Just as he had hoped, he got the holeshot. Dominique Aegerter passed him once, but he passed him back right after that and returned to the front to complete the opening lap and continued to lead the race. Yuki slid several times due to the light rain, but he kept checking the feel as he went through the laps. His teammate Michele Pirro made his way up to 2nd place, setting up a 1st and 2nd place finish for Gresini. However, as soon as Yuki hit the third corner on the sixth lap, he lost control of the machine, and it threw him off. He hit his head hard and lost consciousness, but he came to at the medical area. His body was unscratched, so it could have been much worse. He wasn't able to achieve the result he had hoped for, but his effort was surely watched over by Simoncelli and Koki Takahashi, and we can only believe that it was they who kept him from further harm.