Valencia (Spain) (AFP)

South Africa's Brad Binder (KTM) won his third consecutive victory in Moto2 on Sunday, taking second place in the final standings of the world championship behind Alex Marquez, already crowned.

Binder, who will be riding in MotoGP next year at KTM, fought the whole race with Switzerland's Thomas Lüthi before passing it on the penultimate lap.

This is the fifth victory of the South African in the last 9 races of the season. But that was not enough to beat Alex Marquez, the seven-time-old MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez's younger brother, who was crowned at the Malaysian GP two weeks ago.

Alex Marquez fell during the race Sunday and finished only 30th and last ranked competitor.

"Our pace at the end of the season has been incredible," Binder, 24, said, saying "what a fantastic way to finish my career in Moto2".

KTM is due to leave Moto2 next year to focus on MotoGP and the Austrian brand can go head-on.

The disappointment is strong for Lüthi, down from MotoGP to Moto2 this year, which finally climbs only on the 3rd step of the final podium.

"I tried until the end and even though the race was short, it was very hard until the end, the wind got up and I was in pain with the front of the bike. Brad did not make any mistakes in the last lap and I was not able to pass it again, I'm a bit disappointed to lose this place in the championship but to finish the season on the podium, that's fine. " declared the Swiss pilot.

The duration of the Moto2 race had been reduced from 25 to 16 laps because of the delay in the previous Moto3 race.

. Ranking of the Moto2 race, the last round of the world championship, played Sunday at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia (4.005 km).

1. Brad Binder (RSA / KTM) 15 laps in 25: 30.766 or 150.7 km / h average speed.

2. Thomas Lüthi (SUI / Kalex) at 0.735

3. Jorge Navarro (ESP / Speed ​​Up) to 1.045

4. Stefano Manzi (ITA / MV Agusta) at 1.185

5. Jorge Martin (ESP / KTM) at 8.066

. Final classification of the World Championship:

1. Alex Marquez (ESP / Kalex) 262 points

2. Brad Binder (RSA / KTM) 259

3. Thomas Lüthi (SUI / Kalex) 250

4. Jorge Navarro (ESP / Speed ​​Up) 226

5. Augusto Fernandez (ESP / Kalex) 207

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© 2019 AFP