Is Bradley brave enough to win a GP?: 4th place after been leader in the race

Disappointment for rider Bradley Smith

But there was disappointment for Bradley Smith who finished just outside a podium finish in fourth, despite having led the race early on. The 17-year-old Oxford rider impressed again, despite the rainy conditions, while there was another encouraging performance from fellow Brit Scott Redding, who finished eighth after having started the race in 16th.

It was a stunning win for Ajo Motorsport's Derbi rider Di Meglio, who had dropped to eighth place after a poor start but overcame the difficult conditions to extend his lead at the top of the standings to 30 points as title rival Simone Corsi could only manage a fifth-place finish.

Another Briton, Danny Webb, who was suffering from a broken collar bone, did not finish.

Local hero Stefan Bradl came second on his Aprilia while reigning champion and last year's winner at the Sachsenring Gabor Talmasci clawed his way back from a terrible start from pole position to take third.

In the 250cc race, Marco Simoncelli started on pole and refused to let that advantage slip as he dominated the race from start to finish.

The Italian led by as much as seven seconds during the race and eventually crossed the line 2.257 seconds ahead of Spanish duo Hector Barbera and Alvaro Bautista to wrest the championship lead from Mika Kalio, who finished fourth.

Julian Simon and Mattia Pasini completed the top six.

Irish rider Eugene Laverty scored a point with a 15th place finish as his Aprilia machine struggled to cope with the wet conditions.