Casey Stoner celebrates after winning in Australia, the Ducati ace securing second place in the 2008 championship.
Marlboro Ducati's Casey Stoner won Sunday's MotoGP race at Phillip Island in front of his hometown crowd. The Australian, started the race from pole position and led every single lap of the 27-lap race.
"It's a great feeling to win my home Grand Prix in front of all these wonderful fans," said Stoner. "We've had some issues with the bike here but today it felt great and I was able to push hard from the first lap. Sometimes at this track you can have the best pace but still get dragged into a battle but I was able to get away, even though Nicky chased me hard for a long time before eventually dropping off and giving me some breathing space. It's been a great year for me and even though we haven't won the title I feel proud of our achievements. If we can battle for the championship again next year that would be great but for now I'm just going to enjoy winning my home GP."
Second to Stoner was the newly crowned World Champion, Valentino Rossi. Rossi who started the race from the fourth row, made his way up through the field eventually passing Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden on the final lap for second place.
"That was a very exciting race for me, from start to finish," said Rossi after the race. "Unfortunately I made a small mistake yesterday and I paid a high price for it - both with my starting position and with my body! I got a good start and I was lucky to miss de Angelis by just a couple of centimetres, and then I arrived to Lorenzo and Toseland. The first time I passed James I thought I would be able to go but then he passed me back and I realised that his pace was not so bad, and we had a great battle! He was very strong and difficult to pass but once I did get by I was able to go and then I just kept pushing and gradually Nicky got bigger and bigger. It was fun to keep fighting till the last lap and I am very happy with this second position because it's always a great emotion to be on the podium here. Thanks to my team and to Bridgestone, with Casey as strong as he was I think this was the best we could have done today and I really enjoyed the race."
Rossi's Fiat Yamaha teammate, Jorge Lorenzo battled with San Carlo Gresini Honda's Shinya Nakano for fourth position, with Lorenzo besting the Japanese rider by less than one-half second at the finish line.
While Marlboro Ducati's Stoner finished on the top step of the podium, the second Marlboro Ducati rider, Marco Melandri, finished dead last.
"I'm not very happy with the race because I know I should have been able to fight for the podium today," Lorenzo said. "Toseland was in front of me many times and I couldn't pass him, and then I couldn't follow Valentino when he came through. I think I had the rhythm to have been with Valentino but it didn't work today."
MotoGP 2008 Phillip Island Results:
1. Casey Stoner, AUS, Marlboro Ducati, 40'56.643
2. Valentino Rossi, ITA, Fiat Yamaha, -6.504
3. Nicky Hayden, USA, Repsol Honda, -7.205
4. Jorge Lorenzo, ESP, Fiat Yamaha, -11.500
5. Shinya Nakano, JPN, San Carlo Honda, -11.914
6. James Toseland, GBR, Yamaha Tech 3, -12.243
7. Andrea Dovizioso, ITA, JiR Scot Team, -12.780
8. Colin Edwards, USA, Yamaha Tech 3, -25.920
9. Randy de Puniet, FRA, LCR Honda, -26.037
10. Loris Capirossi, ITA, Rizla Suzuki, -26.799
11. Toni Elias, ESP Alice Ducati, -27.027
12. Anthony West, AUS, Kawasaki Racing, -47.808
13. John Hopkins, USA, Kawasaki Racing, -48.333
14. Sylvain Guintoli, FRA, Alice Ducati, -48.899
15. Chris Vermeulen, AUS, Rizla Suzuki, -48.935
16. Marco Melandri, ITA, Marlboro Ducati, -71.767
