2011 MotoGP Phillip Island Photo Gallery

Marco Simoncelli is looking strong after rebounding from two crashes on Friday to finish runner-up in the timesheets.

Marc Marquez (#93) was given a one-minute penalty for Saturday's qualifying after running into the back of Ratthapark Wilairot.

Dani Pedrosa: "The track is very bumpy, much more than last year, which makes things even more difficult becuase there are many places where the wheels are off the ground."

Andrea Dovizioso: "I've been struggling to get a good feeling with the front. I decided to keep the hard tire in front because it suits my riding style more, but with these bumps it's impossible to control the bike and when I switched to the soft front tire I couldn't improve my time either."

Dani Pedrosa - 2011 Phillip Island MotoGP

Casey Stoner: "That was extremely immature of Marc. I mean he went out with 50 seconds to go. Obviously he was pushing to try and get some feeling on the last lap. But No. 1: people shouldn’t be just cruising on the racing line. No. 2: Marc should not have been pushing that hard after the checkered flag."

Casey Stoner has a clear advantage to win the championship this weekend after snagging pole by nearly half a second.

Jorge Lorenzo: "We did a very good job today. We tried many things and I believe we have the right set up for tomorrow."

For the first time in seven rounds Marco Simoncelli made it on the front row after qualifying 0.151 seconds behind Lorenzo.

Alex de Angelis grabbed the pole victory in the final minutes of qualifying at Phillip Island.

Casey Stoner managed his fifth consecutive win at Phillip Island to claim the 2011 MotoGP title at his home circuit.

Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo (above) and Ben Spies sat out the round due to injury.

Ben Spies - 2011 Phillip Island MotoGP

San Carlo Honda's Marco Simoncelli (#58) posted a strong ride in second after holding off Andrea Dovizioso in the rain.

Poor traction prevented Dani Pedrosa from challenging for a podium position at Phillip Island.

Valnetino Rossi: "Unfortunately, I lost the front when I passed Alvaro, and I’m really disappointed because I didn’t expect it. Evidently, despite all our hard work, we still haven’t solved this problem. Anyway, both in Japan and here, we could have collected some good points, and instead we leave with none." - Phillip Island 2011

Casey Stoner got the jump on the field during the start of the 2011 Australian Grand Prix.

Alvaro Bautista: "The conditions were difficult because during the whole race it was raining in some parts of the track, and each lap it seemed different. In Turn 10, I saw some drops of rain on the screen and before I could even think to react I crashed - the surface was very wet and I just couldn't do anything about it!"

Cal Crutchlow - 2011 Phillip Island MotoGP

Colin Edwards - 2011 Phillip Island MotoGP

Dani Pedrosa (#26) and Andrea Dovizioso (#4) traded places throughout the race with Dovi getting the best of his teammate for third.

Andrea Dovizioso is one step closer to securing third place in the championship this year after grabbing his sixth podium.

Nicky Hayden: "Eventually I blistered the rear tire and was just trying to make it to the finish, and then when it started to rain harder, it felt really slick. I just about lost it, and when I saw Bautista go down, I decided to come in and change bikes rather than risk doing the same. It’s another seventh place, but I was closer to the front than I’ve been in most races."

After starting the Moto2 race from last on the grid Marc Marquez led a stunning comeback to finish on the podium in third.

Alex de Angelis notched his second victory of the season at Phillip Island after making a late pass on Stefan Bradl.

Valentino Rossi - 2011 Phillip Island MotoGP

Casey Stoner: "I built up an early lead as I saw the rain coming in, but I wasn't sure if it would hit us. I basically ran into a wall of rain, there wasn't any warning at the back part of the circuit and I came into the last turn and the rain started hard."

Casey Stoner - 2011 Phillip Island MotoGP

Casey Stoner claims his second MotoGP title - Phillip Island 2011

Nicky Hayden - 2011 Phillip Island MotoGP

Casey Stoner became the world champ for the second time in his career on Sunday after winning his home Grand Prix.

Casey Stoner: "To win this one here on my birthday, my home Grand Prix, and my second world championship, is something just unbelievable. There’s not a lot of people who’ll have that sort of chance to do that, so I’m very thankful and very grateful for that."

Valentino Rossi - 2011 Phillip Island MotoGP

Nicky Hayden: "Ducati hasn't got enough credit for how hard they have worked to give me and Valentino [Rossi] the best opportunity."

Valentino Rossi crashed out for the second round in a row as the Italian was running inside the top-five.

Stoner has restored HRC as a powerhouse in MotoGP with six podiums and nine wins so far in 2011.

Phillip Island Podium, Casey Stoner, Marco Simoncelli and Andrea Dovizioso - Phillip Island 2011

2011 MotoGP Phillip Island Photo Gallery

View photos and images from the 2011 Australian Grand Prix at the Phillip Island circuit.