- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Casey Stoner wins his fourth consecutive Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island - Photo by Damian Visentini / SMP Images
Nerve-wracking pressure of his home crowd pushed Casey Stoner to a fourth consecutive Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix crown at Phillip Island on Sunday.
The Ducati rider began from pole position and led from flag to flag to beat new world champion Jorge Lorenzo by 8.598 seconds with his Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi third.
Stoner, the 2007 world champion whose 23rd MotoGP win moved him to third in the championship, said he felt the crowd would not accept anything less than another win.
“When I won it twice in a row and was going for the third, nobody was really expecting it but of course they were going to enjoy it,” Stoner said.
“But this year everybody seemed to really expect it and they weren’t going to take any other result.
“Every weekend, these last four especially, we’ve been trying to win and we’ve managed to win three out of the last four.
“Unfortunately last week I slipped off on the first lap (in Malaysia) with a bit of a misjudgment.
“But this weekend everything’s gone so well for us. From free practice we were happy with the bike and the way everything was working.
“The fans were fantastic…but definitely before the race I was feeling a little bit of pressure, a little bit nervous – more so than I normally am.
“I think maybe I need to have a few more nerves before other races because I didn’t seem to make a mistake the whole race,” Stoner said.
Lorenzo was given false hope befor the start when he glanced across at Stoner’s Ducati and was optimistic of taking the Australian early.
“In the warm-up lap I looked to my left and I saw the rear tyre of Casey’s was new so I though maybe in the first or second lap he will be very, very careful,” Lorenzo said.
“But it was the opposite – he was so, so fast and in the first lap he had a gap of one-and-a-half seconds.
“I tried my best but from the middle of the race he was going faster and faster and I couldn’t make it.”
By mid-race Stoner was enjoying a comfortable buffer of 3.6 seconds.
Rossi started from eighth position, briefly slipped back to ninth but by lap six had elbowed his way through to sixth.
The seven-time world champion then overtook Americans Nicky Hayden, on a Ducati, and Ben Spies on a Yamaha, to swoop into third spot by the eighth lap.
In the only moment of excitement in the race, the Italian surrendered third to Hayden on the second last lap but retook the spot with a desperate last lap lunge.
Stoner’s win is a continuation of his stunning late season form and he said winning three of the past four races proved he was still giving 100 per cent for Ducati, despite it being his last season with the Italian outfit.
He can still finish second in the world championship as he is now just 23 points behind Honda’s Dani Pedrosa who’s missed the past three races through injury.
A win is worth 25 points and the season wraps up with races in Portugal in two weeks and the final round in Valencia, Spain.
Stoner then moves to the factory Honda team for the 2011 season.
Meanwhile in the 125 cc class Spain’s Marc Marquez stretched his championship lead when he took the flag for his ninth win of the season.
Marquez beat compatriot Pol Espargaro with another Spaniard, Nicolas Terol third.
San Marino rider Alex DeAngelis clinched the Moto2 grand prix, beating Briton Scott Redding and Italian Andrea Iannone.
Toni Elias of Spain had already sealed the world title.
Queenslander Ant West was the leading Australian, finishing back in 21st spot with Alexander Cudlin 30th.
Looking for great odds on racing and sport? Get into the action with PlayUp today. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.