Dani Pedrosa (Honda) secured third place in the FIM MotoGP World Championship with his second win of the season in the finale at Valencia in Spain on Sunday.  Sharing the podium with the Spaniard were new world champion Valentino Rossi of Italy (second) and Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo of Spain (third), who claimed the championship runner-up position.
Australian Casey Stoner, looking for a third successive win in a remarkable comeback from a mysterious illness, was to have started from pole position but failed to take his place on the grid after high-siding his Ducati on the warm-up lap.  He finished the season in fourth place.
Colin Edwards’ fourth place on Sunday on a Yamaha assured the American of fifth place in the overall standings.
Another American, newly-crowned Superbike world champion Ben Spies, made an auspicious MotoGP debut by finishing seventh on a Yamaha.  Next year he will partner Edwards in the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team.
The final 250cc title before it becomes Moto2 next year went to Japan’s Hiroshi Aoyama on a Honda despite only finishing seventh in Spain.  Only challenger and outgoing champion Marco Simoncelli of Italy crashed his Gilera while leading with seven laps remaining.  Spain’s Hector Barbera (Aprilia) won the race ahead of team-mate and compatriot Alvaro Bautista with Italy’s Raffaele de Rosa third on a Honda.
World champion Julian Simon of Spain won the 125 cc race ahead of Aprilia team-mate Bradley Smith of England and Spanish rider Pol Espargaro.