It was the final race for the current formula in the premier (MotoGP) and lightweight classes (now known as Moto3).

On Saturday, Stefan Bradl officially became Moto2 World Champion after his only rival, Marc Márquez, could not go on the track during the free practices and the qualifying session, because of injuries sustained in Malaysia.

[4][5] Colin Edwards had an injured shoulder and was replaced by 2011 AMA Pro Superbike champion Josh Hayes on the Yamaha Tech 3[6] and Jorge Lorenzo was replaced for the second time by test-rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga.

All riders from MotoGP, Moto2 and the 125cc races participated in a parade lap on Sunday morning after the warm-up session with 1993 500cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz riding Simoncelli's bike.

[14] The finish was one of the tightest in MotoGP history as already crowned World Champion Casey Stoner came from a long way back on acceleration out of the last corner to leapfrog Ben Spies at the finish line by just 0.015 seconds.