MOTORCYCLING Live

21/21 Last lap, and this has been an imperious ride from Casey Stoner. Rossi will not catch Pedrosa.

20/21 Two laps to go, and it's all about Valentino Rossi, who is agonisingly close to clinching the title.

19/21 Rossi is about a second and a half behind second-placed Dani Pedrosa. He doesn't need to overtake the Spaniard, but knowing him he'll probably try.

18/21 Stoner's lead has been trimmed to 17 seconds, but he could probably walk round and still win, such is his advantage.

17/21 Rossi is now set for a podium finish - if he stays in third Lorenzo could win the race and the title would still be over.

16/21 Dovizioso is down!! He loses the back end through the esses, and he slides onto the grass, Race over. He looks OK.

15/21 This could get very interesting! Rossi is bearing down on Pedrosa and Dovizioso, and we could see a superb three-way battle for second place!

15/21 We haven't heard much from James Toseland, and unfortunately the Briton is running dead last.

14/21 Rossi laps in 2:14.00, which is another fastest lap and the Italian is storming along.

13/21 Stoner's lead is now longer than the 920m home straight. Extraordinary.

12/21 Fastest lap for Valentino Rossi, and he is closing on Dovizioso now.

11/21 Rossi has put a couple of seconds between himself and Lorenzo, and can concentrate on staying on the black stuff.

10/21 Yet another fastest lap for Stoner, who is lapping a second and a half per lap faster than Dani Pedrosa.

9/21 Rossi goes past Lorenzo! Take that, little boy! The champion moves into fourth, and he is looking to win his seventh premier class title in style!

9/21 Just outrageous - Casey Stoner leads by 11.7 seconds. Amazing performance from the Young Australian, and how different would this championship have been if Stoner had been fit all year?

8/21 That was an absolutely prodigious move from Lorenzo to barge past Elias! Great stuff...

8/21 How they stand: 1-Stoner, 2-Pedrosa, 3-Dovizioso, 4-Lorenzo, 5-Elias, 6-Rossi, 7-Hayden, 8-Capirossi.

7/21 Rossi is past Capirossi and Hayden, and up into sixth place - a risky move to get past the American!

6/21 Valentino Rossi has stopped the rot and, although he is just eighth, he is shadowing Lorenzo and as things stand will be champion yet again - his lead is 37 points.

5/21 Stoner's lead is up to six seconds! Valentino Rossi is up to eighth, and unless Lorenzo can get into the podium positions the championship is over.

4/21 It is still so wet here, but it doesn't affect Casey Stoner - the Australian leads by four seconds!

3/21 De Puniet is off! A massive highside for the Frenchman and that looks painful. He is moving but does not get up - some kind of leg injury.

2/21 Brilliant from Lorenzo!! He has made a superb start from the back and is now in front of Rossi! Rossi is struggling!

1/21 GOOOO!!!! Rossi leads into the first corner but runs wide and loses seven positions! Disaster for the champion-elect!

07:33 The riders are off on the warm-up lap and it is still very damp out there. The riders are on wet tyres at the moment but may well need to change as the race progresses.

07:26 It looks like Jorge Lorenzo is going to start from the pit lane. A hammer blow for the Spaniard, but at least his team have a few minutes to get the original bike fixed.

07:22 Problem for Lorenzo! His Yamaha team cannot start his bike, and he may have to go out on the spare machine!

07:20 The pit lane is open and the riders are out on track. The rain has stopped and the track is draining very quickly.

- The start has been brought forward by five minutes - 07:35 UK time, weather permitting.

- The rain has eased off, and a provisional schedule has been announced. The pit lane will open at 07:20 UK time, with the race at 07:40 UK time.

- Race director Paul Butler says the start has been delayed until the rain subsides, which should be within 30 minutes.

- It's raining - hard! The heavens have just opened and we may well see a delayed start. It is scheduled to get under way at 07:00 UK time.

- Follow live coverage of the Malaysian MotoGP from 07:00 UK time!