Stoner caps championship with win at Valencia title

Australian world champion Casey Stoner won the last race of the season the Valencia MotoGp here on Sunday edging Ben Spies on the line.Stoner - winning his 10th race of the season - had led for most of the 30-lap race before Spies took the lead with three laps remaining.However, Stoner showed his battling qualities and regained the lead on the line to deny the American his second win of the campaign in the first race since the tragic death of Marco Simoncelli in Malaysia a fortnight ago.Stoner, winning his 33rd career Grand Prix, admitted it had been one of his most memorable races,I had a massive lead and was managing that but as soon as more rain came I wasnt willing to push and take risks, said the 26-year-old Australian.I made a mistake and went into neutral and Ben came past and rode a good few laps. I didnt know how I could get past him but I realised I could get a much better drive out of the last corner so I tried to get as close as I could.It was the last lap of the last race of the year so I thought, Lets just go for it - and I got it. It was one of the hairiest races of my career.Spies said that the wet surface had not allowed him to open up a sizeable gap on Stoner.We made a huge charge at the end, said Spies, who won at Assen earlier in the season.But once we got ahead the track was really slick and we took it more carefully so as to avoid making mistakes.Casey took a couple of risks towards the end and they paid off.Italian Andrea Dovizioso took third spot and ensured he finished third in the overall standings on his farewell from the Honda team.I could have taken some risks towards the end of the race, but third in the championships was too important for me, said Dovizioso, who joins Yamaha next season.Yamahas Jorge Lorenzo of Spain, the 2010 champion who missed the race as he recovers from finger surgery after crashing in the Australian GP warm-up at Phillip Island, finished second overall.The whole complexion of the race was turned on its head right at the start with four riders going out.Valentino Rossi - who was wearing a special helmet in tribute to Simoncelli - his Ducati team-mate Nicky Hayden and Randy de Puniet went out after Alvaro Bautista clipped the back of Doviziosos Honda.