MotoGP bound Fermin Aldeguer defeated Aron Canet in a controversial last lap shootout to take Moto2 victory at Phillip Island.
Aldeguer made a contentious move on Canet on the final lap as the SpeedUp rider took his first victory since the Sachsenring in July.
Canet got the best launch from second on the grid and was able to snatch the lead from the SpeedUp duo of Alonso Lopez and Aldeguer.
Jake Dixon was hoping to relaunch his faint championship chances but a crash at Turn 1 with Dennis Foggia saw both riders exit the race early.
The battle between the top three raged on in the first few laps, with Lopez and Canet continuing to swap positions while Aldeguer held on in third.
Gresini’s Manuel Gonzalez had the pace to run just behind the leaders, but a long lap penalty forced him to drop back into the second group.
Championship leader Ogura was the head of the chasing pack, but was pressured by home favourite Senna Agius, who was able to pass the Japanese rider in his quest for Rookie of the Year.
The battle between the top three continued, as Aldeguer took charge of the race and pulled a gap on Canet and Lopez.
Canet was desperate to respond and set new lap records of the circuit in his attempts to keep in touch with the leading SpeedUp of Aldeguer.
Alonso Lopez had dropped back from the leading duo and a mistake saw him crash out of third, promoting home hero Agius into podium contention.
Pressure from Canet forced Aldeguer into a mistake, and the Fantic rider took advantage to make his way back to the front of the race.
The SpeedUp rider would regain the position after an error from Canet, which meant that the riders would tussle for the win onto the final lap.
Aldeguer pulled a move onto Canet into MG Corner and pushed the Fantic rider wide, allowing him a free run to the line to take his first victory since the GermanGP.
Canet was visually disappointed with Aldeguer’s move and had to settle for second.
Agius took the chequered flag in third to earn his first ever grand prix podium at his home race in Australia.
Championship leader Ogura came home in fourth, narrowly ahead of Diogo Moreira and puts himself into contention to win the title in Thailand next weekend.
Gonzalez recovered from his long lap penalty to sixth after outdragging Barry Baltus to the line.
Tony Arbolino took eighth ahead of Sergio Garcia in ninth, while Marcos Ramirez rounded out the top 10.
Jeremy Alcoba was 11th after fighting off Darryn Binder and Albert Arenas.
Motegi podium finisher Filip Salac took 14th as Mario Aji concluded the points finishers in 15th.
