MotoGP News
Date: 28/October/2012
Casey Stoner rode to a ‘fairytale’ sixth home win in front of his adoring Australian fans in Sunday’s Phillip Island MotoGP, while second place secured the title for Jorge Lorenzo.
Stoner hadn’t lost at Phillip Island since 2006 and, despite recent ankle surgery, never looked likely to be beaten in his penultimate race before retirement.
The Repsol Honda hero, 27, was out of sight during practice and qualifying - despite the interruption of a small crash - and blitzed the field on race day, beating Lorenzo by 9.2 seconds.
The no-nonsense Aussie isn’t prone to emotion, but admitted the whole weekend had been straight out of a storybook.
“My time’s counting down now and it was very important for me to win a race before I retire - and to do it at my home grand prix here was just a fairytale,” said Stoner, who had won four races prior to his mid-August ankle injury.
“It was just a fantastic day today. We’ve topped off a difficult year and I think there’s no better way to do it than in front of your home crowd. A crowd this big and this enthusiastic is something else.”
The Australian fans flooded onto the home straight for the podium ceremony, where they saluted ‘King Casey’ for the final time.
“The fans has just been amazing,” said Stoner. “I’ve never seen it so busy. I know a big part of the reason they are here is to watch me ride. So it gives me a great feeling to be out there making them proud.”
Stoner took the lead when team-mate Dani Pedrosa crashed at low-speed on lap two, ending his title chances.
Yamaha’s Lorenzo then held second place to the finish to become Spain first double Champion in the premier-class.
An emotional Lorenzo, who won his first title in 2010, said: “I’m really happy with this championship, because only we know how difficult it is to fight with riders like Casey and Dani, and to fight with factories like Honda. It is very hard.
“So today is a special day and I want to thank everyone that believed in me and wanted me to win.”
Stoner’s final MotoGP appearance will be at Valencia from November 9-11. Lorenzo and Pedrosa, now runner-up for a third time, have re-signed to stay with their present teams until at least 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment