Moto GP: Sepang, Malaysia.

Valentino Rossi secured his position as 2009 MotoGP World Champion at a rain-soaked Sepang this weekend, bringing him to a total of nine championship titles – seven of which are in the premiere class.

The Doctor finished the race in third after running wide on the first turn and giving away eight places. A top four position would have secured him the title, even if team-mate Jorge Lorenzo had won the race at the Malaysian circuit.

“It’s a great achievement,” stated an ecstatic Rossi after the race “And for me it’s the ninth championship, the seventh in MotoGP. I have to thank all the guys from Yamaha, who are great, and all the Fiat Yamaha team, from Jeremy (Burgess, chief mechanic) and all the mechanics to all the guys that work for me, and all my friends. All the people that helped me with this great achievement.”

He also paid tribute to his Spanish team-mate for a competitive season. “I have had a very hard rival in my team-mate Jorge Lorenzo. He has pushed me to new levels and I think it's been a great duel to the end. There have been some bad moments, like Portugal when we weren't at 100%, but we have worked well. Lorenzo has done a great job to put this pressure on us so I have to say well done to him.”

The dream of a championship title evaporated quicker than the floodwaters on the track for Jorge Lorenzo after the Spanish rider experienced problems with his bike and failed to join the grid in time. The number 99 Yamaha M1 was forced to start from the back of the grid, instead of taking up second position. Lorenzo, however, proceeded to make up several places in amazing time and was quickly right on the back of the number 46 bike of Valentino Rossi, and finished the race in fourth.

The Spaniard did not let losing his championship hopes get the better of him, and congratulated his team-mate on the victory, later adding, “We tried to the end to beat him, but I think he was the number one this year because he’s been faster than us in almost every race. He was more consistent than us and he was more clever, so he is the winner.”

Casey Stoner continued his “almost perfect” run since his comeback in Portugal, winning the race by an incredible 15 seconds, ahead of Honda’s Dani Pedrosa. The Aussie, who appears to have matured since he returned to racing, then humbly commented, “The conditions were the same for everyone today and none of us had tested at this track in the wet for quite a long time.”

Andrea Dovizioso rode an excellent race this weekend, battling with Pedrosa for second place. Not a rider adverse to bad conditions, Dovizioso’s first race win came during a wet race at Donington Park earlier this year. Unfortunately for the Italian, his race ended when he crashed out with seven laps remaining, giving fourth place Rossi the podium he was hoping for. Good news, though, for Yamaha’s Colin Edwards who is currently battling Dovizioso for fifth in the championship.

Not such good news for his team-mate James Toseland, who ended the race in fifteenth, after the hapless Gabor Talmasci who is renowned for continuously struggling to perform in races.

The championship will be decided once and for all in two weeks time with the last race of the 2009 season kicking off in Valencia.

Moto GP: Phillip Island, Australia

Jorge Lorenzo suffered crushing disappointment after he crashed out of Sunday’s race at the Australian Grand Prix on the first corner. The Fiat Yamaha man suffered an unfortunate collision with Ducati’s Nicky Hayden which left him without a front brake. The incident left the race wide open for a spectacular battle between native Casey Stoner and Lorenzo’s team-mate Valentino Rossi, whose podium finish now puts him 38 championship points ahead of the Spaniard.

“My front brake broke and I couldn’t brake on the corner.” Lorenzo commented on the collision. “I had two options; to go straight or try to take the corner. I tried to take the corner but I didn’t have a brake and the rear tyre didn’t stay so I crashed.”

Not one to let disappointment get the better of him, Jorge saw the positive side, “The thing that’s most important to me is my health, but now I’m a little less healthy!”

Hayden currently holds the lap record for the track with a time of 1:30.059 but finished the race in fifteenth place and a lap behind the rest of the grid after being clipped by Lorenzo on the first corner

A return to form for Casey Stoner saw him continue his string of wins on his home circuit after a fierce battle with Rossi, who tailed him throughout the race. The Aussie has made an amazing comeback after his time off, and with his win this weekend snatched third place in the championship from Dani Pedrosa, who had a lonely but consistent race for the third podium spot.

Stoner started the race from pole – his first since Qatar at the beginning of the season – decked out in one-off Ducati livery sporting an Australian flag colour scheme in acknowledgement of his 50,000 strong home crowd.

A surprising victor was Honda’s Alex De Angelis, who finished the race in fourth. The San Marino man hopes his solid position this weekend will help him secure a ride for the 2010 season, especially after the incident at Misano earlier this year in which he knocked out Americans Colin Edwards and Nicky Hayden. Commenting on the result he said “Obviously it’s good to achieve this result at the moment as I am still waiting to sign a contract for next year.

Brit James Toseland almost had history repeat itself after receiving a ride-through penalty for a jumpstart at the beginning of the race. The Yamaha rider was disqualified at Laguna Seca in July after ignoring a ride-through penalty, and looked set to do the same this weekend. Toseland, however, took his penalty and finished the race in fourteenth.

Moto GP: Estoril, Portugal

Casey Stoner made a stunning return to form at the Portuguese Grand Prix at the Estoril circuit this weekend. The Australian rider, who has been out of action for two months and missed three races due to his still unidentified illness, finished the race on the podium after coming in second. The result earned him twenty championship points, leaving him just three adrift of third place Dani Pedrosa.

The same success, sadly, could not be transferred to team mate Nicky Hayden. The American finished in a disappointing eighth place after being outstripped by Dovizioso and Elias early in the race.

One man who could not be touched this weekend was wonder-kid Jorge Lorenzo, who won the race by an incredible 6.2 seconds. The twenty-one-year-old Spanish rider, decked out in leathers and helmet designed to look like a spacesuit, celebrated the victory with a tongue-in-cheek re-enactment of the moon landing on the trackside.

World Champion Valentino Rossi suffered a disappointing race after having problems with traction on the circuit. He ended the day in fourth place, a full 23 seconds behind team mate Lorenzo.

There was also misfortune for Mika Kallio, who crashed out after only six laps in a miscalculated cornering manoeuvre. Suzuki rider Capirossi and Honda’s Alex De Angelis were both removed from the race after having technical problems with their bikes.

Lone Brit James Toseland, who will be making a move back to World Superbikes at the end of the 2009 season after being replaced on Yamaha’s satellite team by Ben Spies, finished ninth.

Moto GP: Brno,Czeck Republic

Toni Elias stormed his way on to the podium in the Czech Republic this weekend, fighting off British Grand Prix winner Andrea Dovizioso. He finished the race at the Brno circuit in third position behind fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa and favourite Valentino Rossi.

The victory will surely enable Elias to secure a ride for next season, after his contract with the San Carlo Honda Gresini team comes to an end.

With Casey Stoner’s mystery illness keeping him out of this race, and the succeeding two races in Indianapolis and San Marino, now is the chance for points to be scored elsewhere. Replacement Mika Kallio, who has swapped his satellite Ducati ride for the factory model, crashed out with two laps to go, after colliding with Hayate Team’s Marco Melandri in a poorly judged overtaking manoeuvre.

Elsewhere the battle continued to rage between Fiat Yamaha riders Rossi and Lorenzo, who batted back and forth setting the record lap time for the track. The dream ended for Lorenzo, however, when he fell with only five laps left, leaving the race wide open for another Rossi victory.

Rossi indeed ended this leg of the championship in first place, with an eleven second lead over second place Dani Pedrosa, and twenty seconds faster than Elias. Repsol Honda rider Dovizioso finished in fourth, followed by Suzuki’s Loris Capirossi and Ducati’s Nicky Hayden. Brit James Toseland placed ninth.