Smith ends season with deserved fourth

Eurosport - Sun, 26 Oct 12:26:00 2008

Briton Bradley Smith took a deserved fourth at the season-ending 125cc Valencia Grand Prix

Simone Corsi won the race from Jack and Jones Aprilia team-mate Nicolas Terol, with 2008 world champion Mike di Meglio third.

After two laps home rider Sergio Gadea of Bancaja Aspar and fellow leader Stefan Bradl of Grizzly Gas Kiefer Racing came together and crashed out, creating a wide-open battle for the top spots.

Polaris World Aprilia rider Smith took third for a few laps in the latter part of the race after a double overtaking manoeuvre, only to drop out of the podium places again.

Di Meglio was at the front for much of the race after the Gadea-Bradl incident, swapping P1 with Corsi - but ran wide with two laps left to allow his rivals past.

Sandro Cortese was fifth ahead of Andrea Iannone, with Smith's British compatriot Scott Redding eighth behind Tomoyoshi Koyama.

The third Briton, Danny Webb, retired after six laps.

250s: Simoncelli takes final win

2008 world champion Marco Simoncelli won the 250cc GP from MotoGP-bound Yuki Takahashi with Alvaro Bautista third.

Mika Kallio crashed out on the last lap of KTM's final appearance in the class.

Kallio and fellow KTM rider Julian Simon had taken the first two spots at the first corner after starting from fourth and third respectively.

Simon suffered a puncture and dropped out from fifth spot late in the race with Bautista bearing down on him.

The Spaniard took a record-equalling 10th consecutive podium in the 250cc class when Kallio slid out with a few corners remaining.

Roberto Locatelli held a top-three spot in the middle part of the race but ended it in fourth, ahead of late-climbing Hiroshi Aoyama and Hector Faubel.