Casey Stoner happy to have met expectations with win

The Ducati rider was extremely satisfied with how his entire Iveco Australia Grand Prix went as he rounded off a strong weekend with victory in his home race for the fourth year running.

Casey Stoner’s superb form at Phillip Island continued on Sunday as the Ducati Team rider won his home GP for the fourth consecutive season.

A comfortable victory by a margin of 8.598s ahead of second-placed Jorge Lorenzo was the result of a highly productive weekend for the 25 year-old, who found the perfect level on his Desmosedici GP10 to take his third win in the last four races.

“This feels really nice. I think when I won two in a row here nobody expected me to make it three but having done that I felt there was a lot of expectation on me today,” said Stoner of his form at Phillip Island.

“To be fair we have been going for the win at the last four races - unfortunately I slipped off on the first lap at Sepang but we've made up for that this weekend. Everything has gone well for us, we have been happy with the bike from the first practice and the support from the fans has been fantastic.”

Stoner confessed to having felt slightly more tense than normal before the race due to the expectation, but he immediately settled into his rhythm and led for the entire 27 laps.

“I have to admit that before the race I was feeling the pressure, I was more nervous than I normally am but maybe I should be like that more often because I didn't make mistakes!” he said. “I am really happy with the way I rode today but every single person in the team has done a great job this weekend so my thanks go to them and I hope we can keep it going to the end of the season.”

The result lifted Stoner into third position in the Championship standings where he now sits eight points ahead of Valentino Rossi and 23 behind Dani Pedrosa with two rounds of the season remaining.

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/

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Casey Stoner unstoppable for home Australian win

Casey Stoner wins the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island, third decided with last lap pass.

Casey Stoner will never be beaten as a Ducati rider at his home Australian Grand Prix, after taking his fourth Phillip Island win in a row on Sunday.

The #27, moving to Honda next year, never gave the opposition a chance as he bolted from pole to a two-second lead after just two laps.

Newly crowned world champion Jorge Lorenzo tried to provide some opposition, but Stoner always had pace in hand and went on to claim his third win of the year by a huge 8.598sec from the Fiat Yamaha rider.

The fight for third was much more lively, with Ben Spies, Nicky Hayden, Marco Simoncelli and Valentino Rossi trading places in the early stages.

Outgoing world champion Valentino Rossi, starting from his worst grid position (eighth) since 2008, didn't get the start he had hoped for and was back in ninth at the end of lap 1.

The Italian - on the podium at Phillip Island every year since 1998, including five victories in a row from 2001-2005 - then climbed up the order to catch the pack fighting for third.

Rossi wasted no time in cutting through the trio ahead of him, making shoulder contact with 2011 Ducati team-mate Hayden in the process, to reach third place by lap 8 of 27.

But Stoner and Lorenzo were long gone and Rossi instead had his hands full defending against Hayden, who was the only rider able to stick with Rossi.

The 2006 world champion outbraked the #46 to snatch third back at the Honda hairpin on lap 25, but Rossi typically clung with him and launched a block pass at the same turn to lever his M1 inside Hayden on the very final lap.

Fiat Yamaha has now won the 2010 Teams' title to add to the Riders' crown and are 39 points clear of Honda in the Constructors' standings.

Starting from the outside of the front row, Spies had briefly held second place through turn one, but lost ground after Lorenzo cut across his nose into the following left hander.

Riding at a track he made his victorious WSBK debut at in 2009, Spies spent most of the race fighting fellow rookie Marco Simoncelli for fifth position, which Spies finally took from the Gresini Honda rider with five laps to go.

Spies, who has taken two podiums this year for Monster Yamaha Tech 3, has now wrapped up the 2010 MotoGP Rookie of the Year title. Team-mate Colin Edwards was seventh, as Pramac Ducati's Aleix Espargaro, Simoncelli's team-mate Marco Melandri and Honda LCR's Randy de Puniet completed the top ten.

Mika Kallio, riding in what looks to be his last MotoGP event before being replaced by Carlos Checa for the last two rounds, was eleventh. Alvaro Bautista took twelfth at what is traditionally Suzuki's worst circuit.

No Repsol Honda rider finished the race as Andrea Dovizioso, having dropped to last place, pitted and then retired with some kind of technical problem.

Team-mate and former 2010 title contender Dani Pedrosa withdrew from the race due to a lack of strength from the collarbone he fractured in Japan on October 1.

Rizla Suzuki's Loris Capirossi was also absent after straining the Adductor muscle at the top of his left thigh when he crashed on Saturday.

Australia was the last of three flyaway events, in three consecutive weekends. The next round, the penultimate event of the year, will be held at Estoril, Portugal, on October 31.

Australian Grand Prix:

1. Stoner

2. Lorenzo

3. Rossi

4. Hayden

5. Spies

6. Simoncelli

7. Edwards

8. Espargaro

9. Melandri

10. de Puniet

11. Kallio

12. Bautista

13. Aoyama

14. Barbera

Source: http://www.crash.net/motogp/race+report/

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Phillip Island warm up led by Casey Stoner

The Ducati Team rider, who will start the Iveco Australia Grand Prix from pole position, was fastest in the final warm up ahead of Marco Simoncelli and Valentino Rossi.

Casey Stoner set the best time in the final warm up at Phillip Island on Sunday, as windy conditions continued to prevail at the circuit. The Australian, who will start from pole, posted a best time of 1'30.942 on a surface that dried out as the session continued but which remained cold with a temperature measuring 14ºC.

The 25 year-old was 1.890s faster round the track than Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini), who was followed closely on the timesheet by Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) with another Italian completing the top four in the 20-minute session as Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso timed in at just over two seconds off Stoner's pace.

Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) set top-six times, with Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini) in seventh and managing a run off well as he stayed upright on his bike. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) also had a run off, whilst Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) had a slow speed fall when he took an excursion off track. Completing seven laps and setting a time which was just over 22 seconds off that of Stoner's was 2010 World Champion Jorge Lorenzo, who negotiated the conditions with caution as he prepared for the race.

Neither Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) were on track after confirmation that their respective injuries would prevent them from lining up on the grid for the race, which starts at 4pm local time.

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/

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Casey Stoner targets home glory as Lorenzo aims for winning end to 2010

The Ducati rider was joined by Andrea Dovizioso, Valentino Rossi, 2010 MotoGP Champion Jorge Lorenzo and Moto2 title holder Toni Elías in the Iveco Australian Grand Prix press conference.

Having been crowned as the 2010 MotoGP World Champion just four days ago at Sepang, it was a visibly more relaxed Jorge Lorenzo who attended the pre-event press conference at Phillip Island on Thursday.

Clinching the title in Malaysia has not, however, dampened Lorenzo's determination to win the remaining three races in this year's Championship, starting this weekend with the Iveco Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island.

"The situation now is completely different, there is no pressure as I don't need points for the Championship," declared Lorenzo. "I want to end the season by winning races, so I will be pushing to the maximum this weekend."

Valentino Rossi took the win last time out in Malaysia, returning to the top step of the podium for the first time since the opening race of the season in Qatar and ending the longest victory drought of his MotoGP career.

Rossi, who lost his World Championship crown to his Fiat Yamaha team-mate at Sepang, arrives in Australia still undecided about the timing of essential surgery on his injured shoulder, but hopeful that it will not prove to be a hindrance as he tries to deny Casey Stoner victory at Phillip Island for the fourth successive season this weekend.

"I hope I can race at 100 percent here in Australia," said Rossi. "On paper it looks good for my shoulder because although there are many fast changes of direction there isn't so much heavy braking here. We will see."

"The Phillip Island track is great; something different compared to other tracks. It's so fast and it's important to find the right line. Here it is difficult to find the right balance between the fast and slow corners, but it always makes for great racing, especially in MotoGP."

After crashing out of the Malaysian Grand Prix on the opening lap, Casey Stoner is looking to make amends in his home race, at a track on which he has dominated in recent years. The Ducati rider led every single lap bar one on his way to three consecutive race victories at Phillip Island, a performance he is keen to repeat this weekend as he looks to overhaul Rossi - who he trails by a single point - in the Championship standings.

"Three races ago this race wasn't looking good for us because the bike wasn't working in the areas that you need it to work at Phillip Island. But, during the last three races we have made improvements, so we come into this weekend looking pretty good. It's good sometimes to race in the cooler conditions we get at Phillip Island, but the best thing about this track is definitely the fast corners!"

Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso has found a rich vein of form of late, finishing second to Stoner in Japan and taking second again in Malaysia, this time behind Rossi. Currently lying fifth in the Championship standings, his recent form has seen the Italian close to within one point of Stoner in fourth and two points of Rossi in third. Dovizioso is confident that he and the Honda RC212V are a competitive package and that his elusive first win of the season is not so far away.

"Our target is to win," declared Dovizioso. "We did a good job at the last two races and were able to fight for victory; it was really close. It's going to be hard to get the win here because Casey is so strong at Phillip Island, as is Lorenzo, and Vale is now competitive again, but I will definitely try."

Toni Elías joined the MotoGP riders at today's pre-event press conference, after wrapping up the very first Moto2 World Championship title in Malaysia. The Spaniard, still the only rider to have taken victory in 125cc, 250cc, MotoGP and Moto2 categories, took the title with third place at Sepang after Julián Simón crashed just before the halfway stage.

"For the first time I know what it feels like to be a World Champion; it's been very nice," said Elías about his World Championship win. "It's also been a lot of work, especially the press, but I have found time to celebrate with the team and my family. Phillip Island is not one of my favourite tracks, as I suffered here in MotoGP, but I will be out there fighting for the win in Moto2 on Sunday."

When asked what the future held in store for him, Elías replied: "My motivation is to go to MotoGP and we will see next week if this is possible."

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/

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Casey Stoner drops in on Iveco

Ahead of his home race, the Iveco Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island, the Ducati Team rider paid a trip to the factory of the title sponsor of the event where he met workers and signed a car for charity.

Casey Stoner provided a special workplace treat for workers in the Dandenong (near Melbourne) factory of Iveco on Wednesday when he paid a visit to the premises ahead of the Iveco Australian Grand Prix. As well as being title sponsor of Round 16 of the 2010 MotoGP World Championship, Iveco also sponsors the 24 year-old rider.

After answering questions at a press conference Stoner then signed an Alfa Romeo car which will be raffled to raise money for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which is the beneficiary of the GP. The Ducati man also autographed an Iveco truck which will be displayed in the factory and also as part of a parade at the Phillip Island circuit on Sunday.

Following that Stoner fielded a series of questions from around 200 factory workers after which he posed for photos and signed autographs, and he said: “It's great to come and take a look around here again, and we also really appreciate what Giorgio's (Gallia, Iveco Australia Managing Director) doing by sponsoring the Grand Prix and me. We're happy to give back whatever we can and to get a win this weekend would be fantastic.”

Having taken victory at his home event for the past three seasons Stoner – who will be going for his third win of 2010 this weekend – is naturally looking forward to the GP.

“We'll do all we can to try and get the bike set up and see if we can try and push for another win here,” said Stoner, who also explained why Phillip Island is his favourite track on the MotoGP calendar. “It wasn't designed with a computer, it flows with the land. It has very fast corners so definitely flows together – there are only a few slow turns. The rest of it is very unique, the way it goes up and down, quite severely in some places, so it definitely gives you a bit of an adrenaline rush and really gets it pumping. I think a lot of riders enjoy this track so much mainly for that reason!”

“It's definitely not a track to ride in the wet! In the dry it's definitely the best circuit in the world, for me. I enjoy it the most,” concluded Stoner.

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/

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Difficult day for Hayden and Stoner in Malaysia

The American placed sixth whilst his Ducati team-mate crashed out at Sepang.

A promising weekend for the Ducati Team failed to materialise into top results on Sunday as Nicky Hayden finished sixth in a race that saw Casey Stoner crash out in the early stages. The pair made a strong start, Stoner launching from the second row to edge ahead of Hayden for third place into turn one as they looked to mount a twin assault on the podium positions.

However, Hayden lost touch with the lead group when Stoner slid out in front of him in the final corner at the end of the first lap. From there the American became embroiled in a battle with a group of hard charging riders, who he was forced to concede positions to due to unexpected difficulties under braking.

Nicky Hayden – 6th:

“After qualifying and even warm-up this morning we were confident we could have a good race and put up a better fight than that. I got a decent start but I was struggling for feel under braking, I don't know why. It has been a strong point for us all weekend but in the race I had no feeling from the front tyre from the first corner and couldn't brake how I wanted. It made life difficult, especially when it came to battling with other riders. Sixth isn't a terrible result but we thought we could put up a stronger fight here. Now we have a couple of days to regroup and hopefully come back stronger at Phillip Island.”

Casey Stoner – DNF:

“I'm bitterly disappointed with this weekend. Going into that race we were confident of a good result. We knew we would be at the front challenging for the win and watching the race confirmed that. I know I had the pace to be up there. On the first lap I was calm, I made up some positions in the first two corners and when I got behind Dovizioso and Lorenzo I was happy to stay there and let the tyres get up to temperature. Unfortunately I crashed because they weren't warm enough but I don't think I could have been more careful over those opening laps. I'm so disappointed that such a small thing can ruin an entire weekend.”

Ducati Team press release

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/

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Casey Stoner caught out by cold tyre

"I don't think I could have been more careful over those opening laps. I'm so disappointed that such a small thing can ruin an entire weekend."

Casey Stoner's hopes of a third MotoGP victory in a row ended after less than a lap at Sepang - the Ducati Marlboro star crashing from third at the final hairpin.

“I'm bitterly disappointed with this weekend," said Stoner. "Going into that race we were confident of a good result. We knew we would be at the front challenging for the win and watching the race confirmed that. I know I had the pace to be up there.

"On the first lap I was calm, I made up some positions in the first two corners and when I got behind Dovizioso and Lorenzo I was happy to stay there and let the tyres get up to temperature.

"Unfortunately I crashed because they weren't warm enough but I don't think I could have been more careful over those opening laps. I'm so disappointed that such a small thing can ruin an entire weekend.”

Team-mate Nicky Hayden finished sixth.

"I got a decent start but I was struggling for feel under braking, I don't know why," he said. "It has been a strong point for us all weekend but in the race I had no feeling from the front tyre from the first corner and couldn't brake how I wanted.

"It made life difficult, especially when it came to battling with other riders. Sixth isn't a terrible result but we thought we could put up a stronger fight here. Now we have a couple of days to regroup and hopefully come back stronger at Phillip Island.”

Phillip Island is Stoner's home round.

Source: http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/

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