By Lisa Lewis

Pons Kalex rider Pol Espargaro dominated the Australian Moto2 Grand Prix at Phillip Island, obliterating the fie📖ld to win by a huge margin of 16.811 seconds.

It is h⛄is fourth win of the season and only his second thi❀s year from pole position.

The Tuenti Movꦐil HP 40 man did everything he could to keep the championship alive and sm▨ashed the circuit record as the laps counted down - but third place for Marc Marquez gave the Suter rider an unbeatable 39 point title lead.

Espargaro was happy with his performance in the race and although the championship had still been a distant hope he said in parc ferme that "2nd ♒in the world's not so bad, so we have to b🔯e happy".

Catalunya Caixa Repsol Suter rider Marquez started the race kn🥂owin🔯g he just needed to finish 14th or higher irrespective of Espargaro's result, but an amazing turn of speed in the final corner saw him take the title on the podium, finishing third.

He said his title was "like a dream come true" and congratulated Esꦐpargaro on his great race and season.

Home rider Ant West stormed through from ninth on the grid to hit fourth on his QMMF S𒊎peed Up bike and then chipped away at the deficit to catch Marquez, taking third with three laps remaining.

West then sent the crowd into a frenzy as he raced his way to second, scoring🥃 two consecutive podiums and giving the team their best ever result.

Last weekend's wet Sepang round had been the Australian's first podium in seven years. West, who started the season without a ride, thanked his team and added h💛e'd "been looking for this day, when it's dry and I could still be at the front".

Scott Redding lost out in the big scrap to the line between himself𝕴, Marquez and West but moved his new record points score for a intermedia൩te class British rider on to 161 after finishing fourth, off the back of his equal best ever qualifying result.

Dominique Aegerter ꧙scored his best finish of the season at the Technomag CIP team, crossing the line fifth, with top rookie Johann Zarco's JIR and Ioda Racing Team's Simone Corsi close behind after making a race o💮f it in sixth and seventh respectively.

Tito Rabat was next to take the flag for the Tuenti Movil HP 40 Pons team in eighth. Team Switzerland's Ran💝dy Krummenacher finished ninth and T♕akaaki Nakagami also made the top ten finishers for the Italtrans team.

Jordi Torres Mapfre Aspar was eleventh, ahead of Tech 3's Bradley Smith wꦿho finished twelfth after 𝓀a tough weekend but ahead of his team-mate Xavier Simeon who was 14th.

Crossing the line between the Tech 3 machines was the Italtrans Kalex ridden by Toni Elias, while the final points scoring place went to Mike Di Meglio f✱or Keifer Racing in 15th.

Gino Rea finished in 21st for his Federal Oil Gresini team o༺n the Suter.

Andrea Iannone retired early when his Speed Master's engine gave up with 19 laps remaining and Tom Luthi also didn't go the distance dropping do𝄹wn the order before crashing his Interwetten-Paddock Suter.

Mi🔥ka Kallio was unfortunate when his Marc VDS bike was clipped by Aegerter and Corsi as they battlꦛed ending his race.

Forward Racing confirmed after qualifying that Alex De Angelis had been declared unfit to🎶 compete after fracturing the fifth finger on his left hand and needing overnig🍎ht surgery on his fourth.

The San Marino rider had won at Sepang last weekend♚ and had also been the vict🍌or at Moto2's last two Australian Grands Prix.