Casey Stoner conquers the Australian Grand Prix
Casey Stoner won the Iveco Australian Grand Prix, after a weekend of total domination in practice sessions, as well as in the qualifying round. Jorge Lorenzo came in second, while Valentino Rossi got the last place on the podium.
Casey Stoner has shown his brilliance throughout his home Grand Prix. It was the fourth consecutive victory for the young Australian, in his home country. This victory was preceded by total domination and tremendous pace throughout the weekend. Stoner did
extremely well in all the practice sessions, while he started the race from pole position as well. Throughout the Grand Prix, Stoner faced no real challenge from any rider. He led the race from the start until the end, while finishing 8.598 seconds ahead of
Jorge Lorenzo.
The Spaniard, Jorge Lorenzo, lifted his first ever title in premier class last week. He already has achieved his main goal of the season, which meant that the only thing on his mind was to finish the race. Lorenzo did that exactly, as he took the second
place, making it his 14th pole position for this season. For most of the time, Lorenzo rode alone, as he finished almost 10 seconds ahead of his teammate, Valentino Rossi.
As the first two riders did not face any kind of challenge, the real race was fought for third place, between Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden. Rossi won his second race of the season last week, but he failed to keep up his good form, as he dropped down
to third place. However, he fought well with the Ducati rider to make sure that he finishes his race on the podium. Rossi has only two races left with the factory Yamaha team, as he has already signed a contract with Ducati, for the next season. Therefore,
it was a great performance in the end to impress his new contractors.
Nicky Hayden had an inspiring weekend as well, and he came very close of being on the podium. He crossed Valentino Rossi with three laps remaining, but could not build a lead over the Italian. Unfortunately, Rossi crossed him in the final lap and took the
third place. However, Hayden must have been pleased with this result, as he has been struggling for a very long time now.
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider, Ben Spies, continued his incredible form for this season, as he finished in fifth place. It was his debut season, which has made all his achievements more incredible than others. With yet another finish in top five, the young
American won the title of ‘Rookie of the Year’, ahead of Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini). Simoncelli finished the race in sixth place.
The top ten was completed by Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Aleix Espargaro (Pramac Racing), Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Randy De Puniet (LCR Honda). Andrea Dovizioso could not finish the race because of some technical problems with
his Repsol Honda bike.
Dani Pedrosa is still waiting to recover from his collarbone injury, due to which he missed the race in Australia as well. However, the Spaniard took part in the qualifying round, but did not feel good enough to take part in the race as well. Nevertheless,
he would be fit enough to take part in the next Grand Prix, which is going to take place within two weeks.
Loris Capirossi, Rizla Suzuki rider, also missed the race. He suffered from groin problems after crashing down during the qualifying session. According to his team physiotherapist, he would also return before the next race.
With two more podium finishes, factory Yamaha has lifted the Constructors’ Championship, with two more races to go in the season. However, Stoner has moved ahead of Rossi in the third place, while Dovizioso has moved further down the order. However, Rossi
would try his best to bounce back in the next race, as he would be trying to impress his new team.
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