Casey Stoner celebrated his 26th birthday by clinching the MotoGP world title with a fifth successive Australian Grand Prix victory at the Phillip Island circuit to the delight of the home fans.
Honda-rider Stoner needed only a top-six finish to seal his second championship after nearest rival Jorge Lorenzo pulled out with injury, but he had no intention of simply coasting to the title and won by more than two seconds from team mate Marco Simoncelli on a gusty day at the seaside track.
The win gave Stoner an unassailable 65-point lead over Spaniard Lorenzo with two races left and confirmed the 2007 champion’s class after his last few seasons with Ducati were marred by illness and mechanical frustrations.
Photo: AFP
“I don’t think I can fit too many more things in this today,” a beaming Stoner said.
“It was my birthday, it was my fifth win in a row here, my second world championship, my home grand prix. Everything — to win like this is something really special,” he said.
“It’s been pretty much a dream season for us, everything’s gone really well. We’ve had a few ups and downs, but the downs haven’t been too far down and the ups have been right up there. A big thanks to my team, a big thanks to everyone,” he said.
The Australian’s triumph was virtually a formality after reigning champion Lorenzo injured a finger in a crash during a morning warm-up session.
A distant runner-up at Phillip Island last year, Lorenzo was the only rider to get within half a second of Stoner during Saturday’s qualifying and needed only a podium spot to deny the Australian the title for another week.
His withdrawal virtually handed the title to Stoner, who powered away from the grid and opened up a near one second lead over Ducati’s Nicky Hayden after the first lap.
Earlier in the Moto2 category, Motobi-rider Alex de Angelis passed Stefan Bradl on the last lap and survived a shunt from the German, whose second place gave him a three-point lead over Suter’s Marc Marquez in the championship race.
Aprilia’s Sandro Cortese edged team mate Luis Salom to win the 125cc category, with Derbi-rider Johann Zarco finishing third to close the gap in the title race behind Nicolas Terol to 25 points.
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