Elias wins Moto2 title

The Spaniard was guaranteed to win the title with three races to spare when his closest rival Julian Simon, who started on pole, fell off and finished out of the points.

Elias, who has won seven races in the inaugural season of the 600cc series, changed into an all-silver outfit on the track amid wild celebrations for the Gresini Racing Moriwaki team.

The race was won by Italian veteran Roberto Rolfo, who held off Alex De Angelis by four hundredths of a second at the end of a thrilling race.

It was Rolfo's first win since 2004, with the 30-year-old mounting an impressive charge from 6th on the grid.

Andrea Iannone held off Elias to claim the final podium position.

Simon knew only a win would give him a realistic chance of staying in the title hunt, but had a terrible start from pole position dropping to sixth on the first lap. He clawed his way back into contention, but made two crucial errors.

First he lost several positions after nudging the back wheel of Elias, then he had a fall which signalled the end of his title challenge.

Swiss rider Thomas Luthi fell while competing for the lead, and Britain's Scott Redding was forced to retire through exhaustion.