Moto2: Simoncelli clinches title with third

Bautista made his way up the order in the opening laps before taking the lead at half-distance from Hiroshi Aoyama, winning by a couple of seconds from the Japanese rider.

But even a win couldn't stop Marco Simoncelli from clinching the 250cc title, Simoncelli's third place giving him a 28 point lead with just one race remaining.

It wasn't an easy race for Simoncelli, racing in the lead group throughout the race, but two mistakes in the middle of the race cost him positions each time.

He recovered each time and stayed with the leaders, before dropping off Aoyama's tail in the closing laps on his way to the title.

Yuki Takihashi finished fourth, just ahead of a close battle between teammates Pol Espargaro and Alex Debon, and Roberto Locatelli. Espargaro's race included a stint in the lead in the opening laps before he slowly dropped down the order to finish in fifth place.

The only other potential challenger for the world title, and an extreme outside hope at that, KTM's Mika Kallio, retired on lap five with engine problems having also had clutch problems from the start of the race.

CLASSIFIED:

Pos  Rider                Bike      Time
 1.  Alvaro Bautista      Aprilia   42:56.428
 2.  Hiroshi Aoyama       KTM       +   2.586
 3.  Marco Simoncelli     Gilera    +   8.343
 4.  Yuki Takahashi       Honda     +  11.032
 5.  Aleix Espargaro      Aprilia   +  13.846
 6.  Alex Debon           Aprilia   +  14.274
 7.  Roberto Locatelli    Gilera    +  15.101
 8.  Ratthapark Wilairot  Honda     +  16.987
 9.  Thomas Luthi         Aprilia   +  25.356
10.  Lukas Pesek          Aprilia   +  26.846
11.  Fabrizio Lai         Gilera    +  49.907
12.  Karel Abraham        Aprilia   +  50.088
13.  Alex Baldolini       Aprilia   +1:05.816
14.  Simone Grotzkyj      Gilera    +1:15.544
15.  Imre Toth            Aprilia   +1:19.905
16.  Manuel Hernandez     Aprilia   +1:35.890
17.  Daniel Arcas         Aprilia   +2:00.717
18.  Doni Tata Pradita    Yamaha    +2:28.842

NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:

     Rider                Bike       Laps
     Mattia Pasini        Aprilia     15
     Julian Simon         KTM         11
     Mika Kallio          KTM          5
     Hector Faubel        Aprilia      4