PHILLIP ISLAND (Australia), Oct 5: Casey Stoner salvaged a home triumph out of the wreckage of losing his world title to Valentino Rossi with a dominant all-the-way victory in the Australian MotoGP here on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Australian Ducati rider claimed back-to-back Phillip Island GPs with a 6.5 second victory over Rossi with American Nicky Hayden third on his Repsol Honda.

Stoner, who lamented his two crashes at the Czech and San Marino MotoGPs in August which effectively handed his world title to the resurgent Rossi, gave none of his rivals a chance after he led from the pole to the chequered flag.

“Before the race I didn’t know what to expect,” Stoner said. “A lot of people were going quick, but I gave it my all and managed to pull a gap in the middle of the race.

“It’s awesome to do it here again, two from two at Phillip Island — it’s brilliant to win in Australia.” It was Stoner’s 15th victory in his 50th MotoGP and followed his success before his home fans at Phillip Island last year.

Stoner powered around the 4.448-kilometre Phillip Island circuit in a race time of 40 minutes 56.643 seconds over the 120 kilometre (75-mile) journey.

Rossi had locked up the championship on his Fiat Yamaha the previous weekend in Japan but had to fight his way from 12th on the grid after a crash in Saturday’s qualifying to overtake Hayden on the penultimate lap to capture second spot.

“It was a very exciting race from the beginning to the end because I could not relax,” Rossi said.

He gained 25 points to lead his closest rival, Dani Pedrosa, by 36 points after the Spaniard came off his Honda in the first lap and failed to complete Sunday’s race

Italian Alex De Angelis also failed to finish, joining Pedrosa early in the pits.

Results:

1. Casey Stoner (Australia) Ducati 40:56.643; 2. Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha 41:03.147; 3. Nicky Hayden (U.S.) Honda 41:03.848; 4. Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha 41:08.143; 5. Shinya Nakano (Japan) Honda 41:08.557; 6. James Toseland (Britain) Yamaha 41:08.886; 7. Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Honda 41:09.423; 8. Colin Edwards (U.S.) Yamaha 41:22.563; 9. Randy de Puniet (France) Honda 41:22.680; 10. Loris Capirossi (Italy) Suzuki 41:23.442; 11. Toni Elias (Spain) Ducati 41:23.670; 12. Anthony West (Australia) Kawasaki 41:44.451; 13. John Hopkins (U.S.) Kawasaki 41:44.976; 14. Sylvain Guintoli (France) Ducati 41:45.542; 15. Chris Vermeulen (Australia) Suzuki 41:45.578.

Standings:

1. Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha 332; 2. Casey Stoner (Australia) Ducati 245; 3. Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 209; 4. Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha 182; 5. Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Honda 145; 6. Nicky Hayden (U.S.) Honda 131; 7. Colin Edwards (U.S.) Yamaha 126; 8. Chris Vermeulen (Australia) Suzuki 118; 9. Shinya Nakano (Japan) Honda 106; 10. Loris Capirossi (Italy) Suzuki 102; 11. James Toseland (Britain) Yamaha 100; 12. Toni Elias (Spain) Ducati 91; 13. Sylvain Guintoli (France) Ducati 60; 14. Alex de Angelis (San Marino) Honda 55; 15. Randy de Puniet (France) Honda 54; 16. Marco Melandri (Italy) Ducati 51; 17. John Hopkins (U.S.) Kawasaki 50; 18. Anthony West (Australia) Kawasaki 46; 19. Ben Spies (U.S.) Suzuki 20; 20. Jamie Hacking (U.S.) Kawasaki 5; 21. Tadayuki Okada (Japan) Honda 2.—Agencies