Simoncelli takes win after epic battle

Italian Marco Simoncelli has come out on top after a thrilling race-long battle with Spaniard Alvaro Bautista in the 250cc category at the 2008 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island, surviving a last-ditch effort by the Aprilia rider to win by 0.223 seconds.

Simoncelli and Bautista, first and second in the 250cc standings, swapped positions almost constantly throughout the frantic 25-lap race.

Simoncelli seemed to have broken Bautista's resistance by eking out a 0.618 second lead at the end of lap 16. Bautista battled back, and the pair almost touched into Turn 11 on the final lap after Bautista made one final desperate attempt to overtake the Gilera rider down the hill into Turn 10.

"I am the face of happiness," beamed Simoncelli after the race.

"Today was a fantastic race; unbelievable to be in. In the end, I knew Alvaro would try to pass me, but I tried to close all the doors, and I succeeded."

Simoncelli's victory, his fifth of the season, has seen the Italian extend his Championship lead to 37 points over Bautista with two races remaining.

Bautista's second place, his second in a row at Phillip Island in the 250cc class, was his eighth consecutive podium finish, while Finland's Mika Kallio, third in the Championship, took the final Phillip Island podium spot after edging KTM stablemate Julian Simon (Spain) on the line by just 0.028secs.

After Kallio took the lead into the first corner, Bautista jumped to P1 on the fourth lap, and the race became a two-man battle between the main title contenders.

Bautista would routinely take the lead or head Simoncelli into Turn 1, with the lanky Italian repaying the favour into the tight Turn 4.

Kallio and Simon engaged in a spirited battle for third that lasted the entire race. Their stoush initially involved fellow KTM rider Hiroshi Aoyama, but the Japanese was forced to retire with an apparent technical problem on lap 16, returning to the pits and punching the wall in frustration.

Simoncelli extended his lead over Bautista to nearly four-tenths of a second with four laps to go before the Spaniard found something extra, recording the fastest lap of the race with a 1:32.710 on lap 22, a new benchmark for the quarter-litre class at Phillip Island.

The pair crossed the line to start the final lap separated by 0.354secs, setting up Bautista's brave but unsuccessful overtaking attempt with two turns remaining.