Jules Cluzel claimed his first victory at grand prix level by triumphing in an epic Moto2 race at Silverstone.

The Frenchman pounced when Thomas Luthi - who looked to have done enough to secure the victory - slid slightly wide into Club on the final lap, then resisted Luthi's retaliation attempts to win by 0.057 seconds.

The early stages of the race had featured an incredible lead battle featuring over a dozen bikes. Polesitter Claudio Corti, the early-charging Fonsi Nieto, Cluzel and Julian Simon did most of the leading as riders regularly went four abreast and swapped places countless times.

As the race neared its end, a five-bike pack broke away, with Corti, Cluzel and Simon joined by Luthi and Scott Redding, who had steadily crept into contention.

Despite having dropped into the midfield on the first lap, Luthi worked his way into the lead with two laps to go, and then got some clear air behind him when Corti fell at Club on the penultimate lap while running second.

That looked to have secured the win for Luthi, until the small error on the last lap that gave Cluzel a chance to edge ahead.

Simon completed the podium, with Redding also within 0.5sec of victory as he finished fourth.

Alex Debon fended off Shoya Tomizawa, Mike di Meglio and Xavier Simeon for fifth, while championship leader Toni Elias never featured near the front but clawed his way up to 10th by the end.