( CNN ) -- World champion Casey Stoner won the Valencia MotoGP , the final race of the season , after a thrilling battle with American Ben Spies all the way to the line . Stoner led for most of the 30-lap race before Spies overtook him with three laps remaining . However , the Australian regained the lead to win by just one hundredth of a second and secure his 10th victory of a dominant season . Spies , who won his first ever MotoGP at Assen in June , had to settle for second place with Italian Andrea Dovizioso third . Briton Cal Crutchlow , Spain 's Dani Pedrosa and Katsuyuki Nakasuga of Japan completed the top six . Spies told reporters : `` We tried to just be careful on the last lap as it had started to rain quite heavily . `` Casey took a couple more risks in the last couple of corners and had a bit more motor than me down the straight , '' he added . Stoner , who had already sealed his second world championship triumph prior to Sunday 's race , said : `` It was the last lap of the last race of the year so I thought , 'Let 's just go for it ' -- and I got it . It was one of the hairiest races of my career . '' The win ensured the Honda rider finished on 350 points , 90 points ahead of 2010 world champion Jorge Lorenzo , who was forced to miss the final race because of a finger injury . Dovizioso 's third place ensured he claimed third in the overall standings with 228 points , ahead of Pedrosa on 219 points and Spies on 176 . The race was the first since the tragic death of Marco Simoncelli in a crash in Malaysia a fortnight ago and , prior to racing , riders from the MotoGP , Moto2 and 125cc categories united to perform a lap of honor to remember the late Italian .
World champion Casey Stoner claims a thrilling Valencia MotoGP victory . Australian Stoner edges American Ben Spies with Andrea Dovizioso third . The final MotoGP of the season was the first race since Marco Simoncelli 's death .