Red Bull KTM rider and master tactician Mika Kallio rode a cool headed race at the 250 cc Grand Prix on the Valencia circuit Sunday to snatch victory in the final laps of the last 250 cc world championship race of the season.

Kallio, no stranger to the 125cc podium in Valencia thus wrapped up his rookie season in 250 in style. His victory was a season third for KTM in 250cc. Kallio also won in Japan and team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama in Germany where he and Kallio gave KTM their first ever 1-2 podium in 250 cc. Between them, Kallio and Aoyama delivered a satisfying eight podiums in the current season.

The 24-year old Finn got away well and in the first half of the race tucked into the leading group, oscillating between third and fourth and waited for his opportunity to take the lead. He put in his fastest lap in lap 20 clocking 1:35,659 for a new lap record. Then, on the penultimate lap, Kallio overtook race leader Alex de Angelis, and pulled away to win with a margin of almost four tenths of a seconds.

The 2007 MotoGP World Championship drew to a close at Valencia today after eight months and 18 punishing rounds and, for the Kawasaki Racing Team, it proved to be a tough race.

Randy de Puniet got off to a bad start from a promising fourth on the grid, losing five places by the end of the first lap, but was soon fighting back as the field tore around the Ricardo Tormo circuit in front of an enormous crowd. The 26-year-old Frenchman was back up to seventh by the start of lap nine, having overtaken Makoto Tamada and Alex Barros during a blaze of personal best laps.

He then closed in on Loris Capirossi, and passed the Italian who immediately moved back in front on lap 12. De Puniet held his position until problems with his tyres started to make maintaining ultimate speed through corners too difficult and he subsequently lost out to Chris Vermeulen, then Barros.

As his last race for Kawasaki, and after a weekend full of promise, it wasn't the end he was hoping for. However, he finishes the season with 108 points under his belt (very considerably more than the 37 he scored in his 2006 rookie season), a podium finish at Motegi and a very proud crew.

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Casey Stoner will start tomorrow's season-ending Valencia GP from the front row of the grid after missing out on pole position by a tantalising 0.086 seconds. It is his 12th front-row start from the year's 18 races. Team-mate Loris Capirossi will start from the third row.

The pair will be watched tomorrow by the entire staff of Ducati Corse - more than 100 people - who fly into Valencia tomorrow morning aboard a specially chartered plane. The trip is a thank you for their sterling work which has won the riders', constructors' and teams' MotoGP World Championships.

Champion Stoner, who missed pole at the Malaysian GP two weeks ago by a similarly narrow margin, was the fastest rider here using race tyres in the three pre-qualifying practice sessions.

Red Bull KTM's Mika Kallio stormed to pole position in the final minutes of the 250 cc qualifying for the final Grand Prix of the season leaving world champion Jorge Lorenzo in his wake on the Valencia circuit.

Kallio clocked 1:35.166 on the Spanish circuit to signal to the thousands of Spanish fans that he will be a force to be reckoned with tomorrow. By taking control of the pole position, KTM's Finnish rider is wrapping up his rookie season in 250 cc with a display of riding skill and cunning on the orange machine and that is a strong signal for both Sunday's race and the 2008 season.

Kallio completed his fastest lap on the tyre compound that will be used for the race and said he was especially pleased to be in front of Lorenzo at his home Grand Prix. "Of course I will try everything to conclude the season with a victory," he said.

Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi put his final race of the season in doubt today, after fracturing three bones in his right hand during a crash in qualifying in Valencia. Team-mate Colin Edwards meanwhile had a difficult session, failing to make much progress with the grip issues which troubled him yesterday and qualifying in 15th place.

Rossi's injuries were sustained when he crashed after exiting from turn one, just ten minutes into the session. He was taken to the Mobile Clinic and x-rays revealed fractures to the base of his little finger and to the ulnar styloid and pyramidal bones in his right hand. He also sustained bruising to the base of his spine but x-rays revealed there was no serious damage. The Italian, who has never missed a race in his eleven-year career, will be keen to ride tomorrow, as he needs just one point to seal the runner-up spot from Dani Pedrosa.

The final round of the 2007 MotoGP World Championship kicked off in Spain today, as the curtain came up on the traditional season-ending Grand Prix in Valencia. Fiat Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards had a less than perfect start to the weekend however as they lacked traction and finished the day eighth and thirteenth in the combined standings.

A cold start to the morning gave way to strong sunshine and blue skies, a weather pattern which looks set to continue throughout the weekend. Rossi finished this morning's first practice in sixth, with Edwards in ninth, but this afternoon the pair failed to make any further significant progress and both riders will need all the available minutes remaining if they are to try for a victorious end to the season on Sunday.

Casey Stoner on top again, Capirossi working to improve, Ducati Marlboro Team rider Casey Stoner dominated the first day of practice at Valencia today while Loris Capirossi was 14th quickest, albeit just 1.032 seconds off his team-mate's best time.

World Champion Stoner completed another excellent day's work at the tight and technically challenging Spanish circuit, where he made his testing debut with Ducati almost exactly one year ago. The remarkable Aussie was 0.116 seconds quicker than closest-challenger Sylvain Guintoli, who used qualifying tires to achieve his best time while Stoner used only race tires. Capirossi spent the day working to find more traction and believes he should be able go half a second quicker tomorrow.

This weekend the team's GP7 machines are emblazoned in a special 'Made in Italy' livery, featuring the Italian tricolore.

The Grand Prix of Valencia got off to a testing start today for the Kawasaki Racing Team as the first two of the weekend's practice sessions took place at the technical, 4km Spanish circuit. However, by the end of the afternoon, there were marked improvements in both riders' performances, indicating things will progress nicely in time for Sunday's race.

After the fast, fluid circuits of the recent overseas rounds, which saw the 800cc Ninja ZX-RR come into its own, the complex, "stop and go" layout of the Valencia track proved somewhat more difficult to conquer instantaneously. However, Randy de Puniet established himself on track by the end of the second session, taking well over a second off his morning practice best.

Indeed, with a time of 1'33.519, the 26-year-old Frenchman came in sixth fastest, just 0.551 seconds behind the day's leading man, Casey Stoner, and a minuscule 0.018 seconds behind Chris Vermeulen.

Newly-crowned Japanese Superbike Champion Atsushi Watanabe will race in the 2008 British Superbike Championship aboard a Suzuki GSX-R1000 prepared by Crescent.

The 31-year-old Yoshimura Suzuki rider from Hamamatsu, who also won the title in 2002, has been placed in BSB with a clear aim of winning the Championship.

Watanabe is learning the English language fast. He said: "I know BSB is an ultra-competitive Championship that requires high potential for riders and I have been keen on challenging there for long time to improve my riding skills.

"I am also excited to ride on UK circuits which are completely different from those in Japan. I believe this should be a great honour for my racing career and for those who have motivated me so much."

After the highs and lows of the Malaysian Grand Prix, Randy de Puniet and Anthony West of the Kawasaki Racing Team will be heading to Spain this week, for the final round of the MotoGP World Championship at Valencia.

Sunday's race will mark the end of an era for de Puniet, who leaves Kawasaki for pastures new in 2008. This year has seen the 26-year-old develop in to one of the fastest men on the circuit and his recent results, including a second place at Motegi, illustrate how far both he and the 800cc Ninja ZX-RR have progressed throughout the season.

De Puniet has a successful history at the 4km, Ricardo Tormo track, having won the 250cc World Championship round there in 2003 and getting a third the following year, adding to a number of other top ten finishes at the venue. Last year, on the 990cc ZX-RR, he was not so lucky, crashing out on the fifth lap, so he'll certainly want to improve on that result. Judging by his recent performances, the Frenchman will be able to do just that.