PHILLIP ISLAND - World champion Casey Stoner delighted his home fans with a dominant victory in the Australian MotoGP.
The 21-year-old Australian started third on the grid but he surged into the lead on the first lap and never lost it, easing to his ninth win ofthe season and becoming the first home winner of the Australian Grand Prix since Mick Doohan in 1998.
Stoner crossed the line in 41 minutes, 12.244 seconds, over six seconds ahead of his Ducati team mate Loris Capirossi with Yamaha's Valentino Rossi in third.
"It's a dream for me really, the race worked out perfectly. We had a great start and I just had to bring it home," Stoner said in a televised interview.
Stoner, who clinched his first world title in Japan last month, overtook pole-sitter Dani Pedrosa and Rossi by the second corner of the race and was involved in a tense duel with American Nicky Hayden in the early laps.
Last year's world champion was forced to retire with mechanical problems on lap 12, however, and Stoner was never threatened again, Capirossi completing a fine day for Ducati by passing fellow Italian Rossi and Pedrosa to finish runner-up.
Earlier, Spain's Jorge Lorenzo continued his domination of the 250cc category, cruising to his ninth victory of the season by nearly 20 seconds ahead of compatriot Alvaro Bautista.
Andrea Dovizioso was third but Lorenzo extended his lead over the Italian at the top of the world championship standings to 45 points and needs just six more from the last two races to retain his title.
Czech Lukas Pesek won a thrilling 125cc race in which the first five riders were separated by less than a second.
Pesek clocked a time of 38 minutes 3.020 seconds on his Derbi to edge out Spain's Joan Olive with Spaniard Hector Faubel third.
World championship leader Gabor Talmacsi of Hungary finished only eighth, allowing Faubel to close to within one point of his fellow Aprilia rider at the top of the standings with two races left.
