Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC212V) won the 2011 MotoGP World Championship with a victory in difficult conditions on his home circuit of Phillip Island on his 26th birthday. Finishing behind Stoner were three Hondas, Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V), in a career best second, then Repsol Honda team-mates Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa.
Stoner?s chances of winning the title greatly improved when his only title rival, Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), was declared unfit to race after injuring his left hand in a crash near the end of morning warm-up. That put Stoner in position to take the championship by finishing sixth or better, though he would rather have won in a straight-up fight. Since Stoner had been on the podium in every race he?s finished this year, finishing sixth or better was never in question.
Bolting from his 11th pole position of the year, Stoner controlled the pace on a cold, blustery, but mostly sunlit day, turning the race into a battle for second. Stoner had a lead of 7.4s on the 14th of 27 laps and was well on his way to victory when a light, then heavy rain threatened to turn the race chaotic in the final stages. Two riders pitted to change to motorcycles with rain set-ups, and three others fell, but Stoner survived one harrowing moment, maintained his composure and sped to his fifth consecutive victory at Phillip Island, today by 2.21s.
The win gave him a untouchable championship lead over Lorenzo of 325 to 260, with only 50 points remaining in the final two races in Malaysia and Valencia.
The title was Stoner?s second; he also won the 2007 MotoGP World Championship, giving him the distinction of opening and closing the 800cc era as world champion.
The victory came on a day when Honda celebrated their 60th Constructors Championship and 18th in the premier class, and 15th riders championship in the premier class. Honda has an insurmountable 75 point lead, 380 to 305, over Yamaha with two races remaining.
Though Stoner?s win was never in doubt, the same couldn?t be said of the other podium positions. By the fourth of 27 laps, Honda riders held the top four spots and began an inter-family battle that would go down to the final lap. Simoncelli took over second on the second lap and held the position almost to the end. Only on the 25th lap did Dovizioso find a way past, holding the position for two laps. But on the final lap, when the track was again dry, Simoncelli re-asserted himself to finish second, a career best in the premier class. Dovi was third at .244s, with Pedrosa dropping off the pace at the end to finish fourth.
What wasn?t known at the time was that Pedrosa?s front tyre had degraded, taking away his corner entry speed and forcing him to abandon the podium fight. Rather than risk crashing, and losing valuable championship points, he made the wise decision to secure fourth, and give Honda a top four sweep.
Toni Elias (LCR Honda MotoGP) survived the adverse conditions to finish eighth, tying his season best. Elias was again troubled by rear grip issues, caused by the dropping temperature. Still, he rode a smart, calculated race using his experience to avoid the traps that befell a number of others.
Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) was also having a good race when he crashed four laps from the end on a wet track. At the time, the Japanese rider was immersed in a scrap with two other riders for eighth. One of the other riders also fell, leaving only ten finishers.
Aoyama will be joining the World Superbike Championship aboard a Honda in 2012 and wants to finish his MotoGP career strongly in the final two races.
The MotoGP World Championship flies straight to Sepang, Malaysia for the last of the flyaways next weekend. The action then returns to Europe for the season finale at Valencia, Spain, on November 6.
MOTOGP RIDER QUOTES
Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda: Race winner
?I don't think anyone could plan things to happen better than they have today! The race was incredibly difficult, the conditions were very tough. 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. I nearly lost control and thought for sure I was going to end up in the gravel. I managed to control it and maintain the gap to everyone and thankfully bring it home for the win, but it was a little bit nerve-wracking for sure. I'm really sorry that Jorge (Lorenzo) had the accident this morning. He's a great competitor and I think if he'd been here racing today things might not have turned out the way they have. I hope his operation goes well and he's back racing as soon as he feels fit. I can't thank everyone enough, my team, Repsol, all our sponsors, everyone that has worked so hard all year, thank you.?
Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 2nd
?I am delighted! It was a really tough race with changeable conditions throughout and every time I saw raindrops on my visor I was unsure whether I could push or not. I managed to put a little gap on Dovizioso and Pedrosa, but when the rain came Dovizioso was able to catch me and make a pass. I managed to stay with him and follow his lines so when the track was dry again on the last lap I was able to throw everything at him and make the pass. I had been second for the whole race and I didn't want to give up on it until the end. It was nice to finish directly behind the new world champion. I feel sorry for (Jorge) Lorenzo and I hope he is fit and back on track again soon.?
Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 3rd
?It was a difficult race as we expected. This track is very tricky, as are the weather conditions. To return on the podium and arrive in front of Dani here at Phillip Island is a very good result for us and it was our target before getting here. I think we could have even finished in second position, but when Dani overtook me in the middle of the race we lost contact with Simoncelli. Then I retook the position when the rain came, but on the final lap I didn't have enough grip to push hard in the last few corners. Anyway, we are still fighting for the third place in the championship and I'm sure Dani will be strong in the last two races, but we will try to do our best until the end. Casey has had an amazing season, he is the fastest rider at the moment, so congratulations to him for the title.?
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 4th
?It's been very tough today, I didn't feel comfortable throughout the weekend and the race didn't start in the best way either. I had a problem with the wind at the start; I almost lost balance and I had to put the left foot on the ground at the same time as the red light went out, so I had a bad start. The first few laps were not so good, then I recovered slightly, I overtook Andrea and fought with him, but the front tyre was finished in the last laps. When I tried to pull away I was losing the front, so I couldn't keep him behind and then the rain arrived. It's not been a good weekend for me. I want to say congratulations to Casey for his title. He's been the strongest this season, always on the podium, with no mistakes, so he deserves it.?
Toni Elias, LCR Honda MotoGP: 8th
?This was a difficult race for us because the weather was pretty bad and in these conditions we always suffer very much. I can not warm up the rear tyre properly and since the beginning of the race I have suffered edge grip issues. We have been lucky because some riders crashed out in the last part of the race and we could finish in the top ten. Hopefully we can adjust the bike for next race in Sepang where the temperature is totally different.?
Hiroshi Aoyama, San Carlo Honda Gresini: DNF
?It has been a very difficult race because of the strong winds and the mixed conditions. I really wanted to have a good race because these are my last few races in MotoGP, but this weekend has been particularly difficult with the crash yesterday and then again today in turn nine when a sudden rain shower hit that part of the track. I am really disappointed and hope to make up for it next week in Malaysia.?
Pole position : 1m29.975s (177.969Km/h) Casey Stoner, Honda
Fastest lap : Lap 3 - 1m30.629s (176.685Km/h) Casey Stoner, Honda
Circuit record lap : 1m30.059s (177.803Km/h) Nicky Hayden (Honda, 2008)
Circuit Best Lap : 1m28.665s (180.598Km/h) Casey Stoner (Ducati, 2008)
Event results - Round 16 - Race 1
1 Casey Stoner 42m02.425s AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Marco Simoncelli +2.210s ITA HONDA Honda Gresini
3 Andrea Dovizioso +2.454s ITA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Dani Pedrosa +13.160s SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
5 Colin Edwards +30.886s USA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
6 Randy De Puniet +48.800s FRA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
7 Nicky Hayden +1m16.314s USA DUCATI Ducati Team
8 Toni Elias +1 Lap SPA HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
9 Loris Capirossi +1 Lap ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
10 Karel Abraham +2 Laps CZE DUCATI Cardion AB Ducati
11 Alvaro Bautista DNF - 4 Laps SPA SUZUKI Suzuki MotoGP
12 Hiroshi Aoyama DNF - 4 Laps JPN HONDA Honda Gresini
13 Cal Crutchlow DNF - 4 Laps GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
14 Valentino Rossi DNF - 14 Laps ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
15 Ben Spies DNF - DNS USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
16 Jorge Lorenzo DNF - DNS SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
Championship standings
1 Casey Stoner 325 pts AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Jorge Lorenzo 260 pts SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
3 Andrea Dovizioso 212 pts ITA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Dani Pedrosa 208 pts SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
5 Ben Spies 156 pts USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
6 Valentino Rossi 139 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
7 Marco Simoncelli 139 pts ITA HONDA Honda Gresini
8 Nicky Hayden 132 pts USA DUCATI Ducati Team
9 Colin Edwards 109 pts USA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
10 Hiroshi Aoyama 94 pts JPN HONDA Honda Gresini
11 Hector Barbera 77 pts SPA DUCATI Aspar Ducati
12 Alvaro Bautista 67 pts SPA SUZUKI Suzuki MotoGP
13 Cal Crutchlow 57 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
14 Karel Abraham 56 pts CZE DUCATI Cardion AB Ducati
15 Toni Elias 55 pts SPA HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
16 Randy De Puniet 49 pts FRA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
17 Loris Capirossi 36 pts ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
18 Kousuke Akiyoshi 7 pts JPN HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
19 John Hopkins 6 pts USA SUZUKI Suzuki MotoGP
20 Shinichi Ito 3 pts JPN HONDA Team HRC
21 Sylvain Guintoli 0 pts FRA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
