Moto3 title battle goes down to the wire as Kent loses out to Oliveira at Sepang

For the third time, Danny Kent failed to wrap up the Moto3 title as contender Miguel Oliveira takes the showdown into the final race at Valencia in two weeks time.

After crashing out of last weekend's controversial Phillip Island race, Kent arrived at Sepang with a 40 point advantage over closest rival Oliveira, needing only a top five finish to be assured of the title.

In the race, Kent got off to a disastrous start, losing seven places to 16th in the opening few laps at Sepang.

It was then clawing back up slowly for the British rider, as title contender Oliveira battled hard for the race lead with six riders in the mix.

Kent got himself up to 10th after his teammates crashed into each other but had a bigger train of riders to overcome, in order to secure the title.

It was frantic at the top with the race lead changing almost every lap, and the title chances for Kent fluctuating until the final lap of the race.

The Leopard Racing rider secured the title by being fifth on the penultimate lap but lost ground in the final corners of the race to drop back to seventh as Oliveira took the win, overtaking teammate Brad Binder in the final corner.

Kent needed a 26 points advantage between him and Oliveira to clinch the title but with the Portuguese rider's win, Kent fell short by two points as the title battle, now goes down to the wire to Valencia in the season finale.