The title says it all and the cat is out of the bag – Pierre-Alexandre Renet produced a near flawless performance at the penultimate GP of the 2009 MX3 world championship series at Randers, Denmark, and when all was said and done, the popular Frenchman stood atop the podium, scarcely able to contain his emotions as he was crowned 2009 world champion.

With a 29 point lead going into the race, it was possible, but not probable, that Pela could rake in the world title prematurely. With 100 points still left to fight for, and with title rival Alex Salvini having been a model of consistency throughout the series, the lead was comfortable, but by no means unassailable. Pela was leaving nothing to chance, however, and he would do all that was within his power to ensure title honours for himself and his team. The qualifying session certainly augured well for the tall rider, and for the first time in his career he rode his Bodo Schmidt Racing Suzuki to pole position in a GP race.

Bodo Schmidt, who had sacrificed so much and given so much of himself this year to ensure that his ward had every opportunity to realize his ambition, had made the trip, perhaps sensing that something great was in the making. His soft-spoken rider again fired a shot across the bows of the opposition on Sunday morning by clocking the fastest time in the warm-up session, proving yet again that the opposition had better develop a dash of speed if they were to keep him from the throne.

Some heavy rain made conditions even more difficult on an already difficult track. Pela got away in sixth position in race 1, but the mud spray did him no favours as his goggles caked up with goo. Despite struggling to clear his vision, he found his way forward, and finished the race in third position behind compatriot Julien Vanni and Finnish rider Antti Pyrhonen. With Salvini behind him, Pela had gained another few precious points on the way to the title.

The lanky rider placed himself in a good spot at the start of race 2. When race leader Vanni experienced problems on the track, he pounced, and from there he rode to an unchallenged victory. In the meantime his pits had signalled him that not only was he riding towards the overall GP victory, but that Salvini had crashed, and that the title was in the bag.

Pela crossed the line and was a picture of ecstatic joy. Team manager Bodo Schmidt and the whole team gathered round, and who would deny them the pleasure of celebrating this remarkable achievement against such great odds?

After composing himself, Pela was beaming with pride and joy, yet still remained his unassuming self. “It is an incredible feeling,” he said. "I am so happy. At the beginning of the year, we thought that it would be possible to fight for the title, but it still seemed so far away. Now it's actually in my hands, and it's hard to believe. It would have been nice to have won the title in front of my home fans at the last GP, but it's also nice to be able to go there with no pressure on my shoulders. My thanks goes to Bodo and the mechanics and the entire team, our sponsors, my family and all our supporters. Each and every bit of help was important to us."

The final round of the world championship series will take place at Villars sous Ecot, France, on 13th September .