TETBURY'S Moto3 ace Danny Kent secured a stunning second Grand Prix victory in the final race of 2012 at the Valencia circuit in Spain, writes Alannah Fellows.

Kent pulled off an audacious last-corner manoeuvre to pass German World Champion Sandro Cortese to complete a win which took him to fourth place in the series standings.

It was a particularly fine achievement as Kent was racing against his Moto3 team-mate on inferior machinery.

After struggling in qualifying, Danny had a good start and was up into fifth position (from seventh) at the first corner.

The KTM rider proved cautious in the early stages and stayed in sixth for the first 16 laps. A near-crash moment with South African rookie Brad Binder spurred Danny on and he was up into fourth with seven laps remaining.

Pushing hard, Danny became the nearest pursuer to Cortese on the last lap before snatching the lead out of the final corner.

“It’s a great feeling," said Kent. "I’ve said before that I’d like to end my career with Moto3 on a high and I couldn’t have done much better.

“I can honestly say that I wasn’t expecting to win as we’ve been struggling all weekend in the wet and we haven’t had a great feeling. The race seemed to come easy for me, though.

"I just tried staying with the front group, although I nearly crashed with Binder; I passed him on the inside and nearly high-sided with him on the exit, but I managed to catch the front group and I got the win, so I’m really happy.

"When I was behind Sandro it looked like he was really smooth and really comfortable. He told me he wasn’t expecting me to be there, but I just pushed him that extra bit. I knew from previous laps that I was quite strong on the last corner, so I thought that if I can get close enough I might be able to pass him.”

Praise came thick and fast for the 18-year-old racer.

Former MotoGP World Champion James Toseland said: “Awesome ride, mate! Doing the 52 proud! Can't wait to see you on a Moto2 bike now. Look forward to training this winter", while seven-times World Superbike Champion Carl Fogarty added: "Awesome ride there from Danny Kent.”

The countdown to the 2013 season begins this week when Danny gets to test his Moto2 Tech3 machine for the first time around the Valencia circuit.