6 Oct 2008

Stoner wins at Phillip Island

6:12 am on 6 October 2008

The Australian motorcyclist Casey Stoner has won the Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island, beating new world champion Valentino Rossi of Italy by more than 6 seconds.

Stoner overcame a persistent wrist injury and the disappointment of relinquishing his world title last week to delight of the 51 thousand-strong home crowd with his second straight home title... American Nicky Hayden finished third.

Rossi, who had treatment on his neck after falling during qualifying on Saturday, wrapped up his fifth world MotoGP world title, and sixth premier-class title overall, in Japan last week.

Stoner, who will have surgery at the end of the season to fix a broken bone in his wrist, blasted away from pole on his Ducati and led for all 27 laps of the 4.45-km track in sunny conditions.