Alcaiz - South Africa's Brad Binder climbed through the field to claim the Moto3 world title at the Aragon Grand Prix on Sunday.
Spaniard Jorge Navarro edged out Binder, 21, to victory on the finish line, but he got the second place he needed to seal the championship with four races still to go.
"Right now it doesn't feel real yet," said Binder.
"It came down to the final lap. Today we lost the battle but we won the war."
Binder, on a KTM, qualified down in seventh, but quickly moved to the front of the race before becoming embroiled in a fight with Honda pair Navarro and Enea Bastianini for the win.
Italian Bastianini led until the final corner, but was swamped by Navarro and Binder with both celebrating as they crossed the line.
Binder, who has won five races this season, extended his championship lead to 106 points with just 100 left to race for.
He becomes the first person from his country to claim a world title since Jon Ekerold in the now defunct 350cc category in 1980.
Navarro leapfrogs Bastianini into second in the championship standings thanks to his second win of the season.
Collated results from the Aragon motorcycling Grand Prix on Sunday:
MotoGP
1. Marc Marquez (ESP/Honda) 41:57.678, 2. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Yamaha) at 2.740, 3.Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) 5.983, 4. Maverick Vinales (ESP/Suzuki) 8.238, 5. Cal Crutchlow (GBR/Honda LCR) 13.221, 6. Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda) 17.072, 7. Aleix Espargaro (ESP/Suzuki) 18.522, 8. Pol Espargaro (ESP/Yamaha Tech3) 19.432, 9. Alvaro Bautista (ESP/Aprilia) 23.071, 10. Stefan Bradl (GER/Aprilla) 27.898
World championship standings
1. Marc Marquez (ESP/Honda) 248 pts, 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) 196, 3. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Yamaha) 182, 4. Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda) 155, 5. Maverick Vinales (ESP/Suzuki) 149, 6. Cal Crutchlow (GBR/Honda) 105, 7. Andrea Doviziosio (ITA/Ducati) 104, 8. Andrea Iannone (ITA/Ducati) 96, 9. Pol Espargaro (ITA/Yamaha) 96, 10. Hector Barbera (ESP/Ducati) 84
Moto2
1. Sam Lowes (GBR/Kalex) 40:00.885, 2. Alex Marquez (ESP/Kalex) at 3.289, 3. Franco Morbidelli (ITA/Kalex) 3.321, 4. Thomas Luthi (SWI/Kalex) 5.181, 5. Takaaki Nakagami (JPN/Kalex) 10.722, 6. Alex Rins (ESP/Kalex) 12.164, 7. Lorenzo Baldassarri (ITA/Kalex) 12.385, 8. Johann Zarco (FRA/Kalex) 12.612, 9. Simone Corsi (ITA/Speed Up) 14.004, 10. Jonas Folger (GER/Kalex) 18.164
World championship standings
1. Johann Zarco (FRA/Kalex) 202 pts, 2. Alex Rins (ESP/Kalex) 201, 3. Sam Lowes (GBR/Kalex) 162, 4. Thomas Luthi (SUI/Kalex) 154, 5. Franco Morbidelli (ITA/Kalex) 141, 6. Takaaki Nakagami (JPN/Kalex) 135, 7. Jonas Folger (GER/Kalex) 133, 8. Hafizh Syahrin (MAL/Kalex) 103, 9. Lorenzo Baldassarri (ITA/Kalex) 99, 10. Simone Corsi (ITA/Speed Up) 74
Moto 3
1. Jorge Navarro (ESP/Honda) 39:56.973, 2. Brad Binder (RSA/KTM) at 0.030, 3. Enea Bastianini (ITA/Honda) 0.107, 4. Fabio di Giannantonio (ITA/Honda) 0.162, 5. Joan Mir (ESP/KTM) 1.724, 6. Jorge Martin (ESP/Mahindra) 1.903, 7. Aron Canet (ESP/Honda) 1.979, 8. Gabriel Rodrigo (ARG/KTM) 3.008, 9. Juanfran Guevara (ESP/KTM) 3.101, 10. Philipp Oettl (GER/KTM) 3.559
World championship standings
1. Brad Binder (RSA/KTM) 249 pts (champion), 2. Jorge Navarro (ESP/Honda) 143, 3. Enea Bastianini (ITA/Honda) 139, 4. Joan Mir (ESP/KTM) 117, 5. Nicolo Bulega (ITA/KTM) 113, 6. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA/Honda) 111, 7. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA/Mahindra) 110, 8. Romano Fenati (ITA/KTM) 93, 9. Niccolo Antonelli (ITA/Honda) 81, 10. Jakub Kornfeil (CZE/Honda) 80