Pecco Bagnaia delight at back-to-back MotoGP title joy

His main title challenger, Spaniard Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing Ducati), took his ninth Sprint race victory with Bagnaia fifth on Saturday to take the championship to the last race of a brilliant season.

In front of 100,000 race fans, packed into the Ricardo Tormo circuit, Bagnaia and Martin led the pack on lap one of the 27-lap title decider.

Martin had to win to have any chance and pushed so hard that he collided with his Italian rival into Turn 1 on lap three.

Martin dropped to eighth, while Bagnaia kept the lead, ahead of Brad Binder and Jack Miller on the KTMs.

Martin was desperate to make up lost ground and made some forceful moves as he fought his way through the traffic.

He worked his way to sixth, passing Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales before setting his sights on eight-time World champion Marc Marquez in his final race for Repsol Honda.

Martin lunged inside Marquez at Turn 4 on lap seven, clipping Marquez’s rear wheel, firing the Spaniard high into the air and crashing out himself.

The title was Bagnaia’s as Martin made his way back to the Prima Primac garage.

Bagnaia, who became only the third rider in history after Valentino Rossi and Marquez to win back-to-back championships, dropped back behind the KTMs into third.

Binder dropped to sixth with 12 laps to go after a big mistake at Turn 11 and Miller crashed out on lap 19 at Turn 10.

Bagnaia went on to take the title with the race win from the hard-charging Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing Ducati).

The Italian, however, received a three-second post-race time penalty for being under the minimum tyre pressures in the race, dropping him to fourth.

It meant Prima Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco was elevated to second, with Binder completing the podium.

“It feels amazing,” said Bagnaia. “It was a long race...27 laps of struggling because I didn’t feel well with the front.

"When I let the two KTMs past the feeling started to become better.

"From that moment I was able to push but in the last few laps I was completely without tyres.

"It wasn’t an easy day because I was under quite a bit of pressure but we won the title, winning the race and I feel the happiest I’ve ever felt in my life.”

Fermin Aldeguer took his fourth Moto2 victory on the trot while British riders Jake Dixon and Sam Lowes finished sixth and seventh, while Ayumu Sasaki claimed his first Moto3 win of the year.