Ninth place finish was enough for the Italian Ducati rider to take an unassailable lead at the top of the standings to dethrone the French Yamaha rider, Fabio Quartararo.

Bagnaia conceded that the race was one of the hardest of his career, but he is nevertheless stratified to be the world champion for the first time in his career.

"World champion - it sounds good,” said Bagnaia after his win.

“That was the hardest race of my life. I was struggling.

“My aim was to be in the top five, but I started to struggle after a few laps, but the most important thing is we are world champions.”

The race was won by Alex Rins of Spain in 41:22.250, while South Africa's Brad Binder finished in second for the third time this season.

The 20 points saw the Potchefstroom-born Binder move up to 6th overall in the championship standings.

Morgan Piek/OFM Sport