MOTOGP: Kent clinches Moto3 title at finale

Danny Kent wrapped up the Moto3 championship with ninth at the season finale at Valencia, despite a sixth win of the season for rival Miguel Oliveira.

Kent, who started just 18th after making a mistake with gearbox setup in qualifying, became the first Briton to win a grand prix motorcycle racing world championship since Barry Sheene's 500cc crown in 1977.

After failing to clinch the title at the last two rounds, Kent went into the final race of the season needing to finish 14th or better to wrap up the Moto3 crown, regardless of Oliveira's result.

As a fast-starting Oliveira battled for the lead out front with Kent's Leopard Racing teammate Efron Vazquez and Jorge Navarro, the Briton made steady progress through the field, moving up the order to run 11th going into the closing stages.

Kent struggled to clear his teammate Hiroki Ono, but the point was made moot as Niccolo Antonelli cleared out fellow front-runners Romano Fenati and Vazquez on the final lap, promoting the Briton to ninth position, enough to win the title.

Ajo Motorsport rider Oliveira, who will be Kent's Moto2 teammate in 2016 when both move up with the Kiefer-run Leopard Racing squad, beat Navarro in a hard-fought battle to score a third consecutive win and finish as runner-up in the championship.

Jakub Kornfeil profited from Antonelli's last-lap crash to complete the podium, with Brad Binder and Enea Bastianini fourth and fifth, respectively.

LEADING RESULTS - 24 LAPS:

LEADING CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS:

Originally on Autosport.com