Australian takes sixth triumph at home in MotoGP, his fifth win of the season. Dani Pedrosa waves goodbye to his title hopes after second lap crash.
Casey Stoner once again delighted his countrymen in Phillip Island. The Repsol rider took a dominant fifth win of the season in a race in which Dani Pedrosa, taking riskes to keep alive his title options, fell on the second lap when leading the race. Jorge Lorenzo clinched the 2012 MotoGP title with second place.
At the start, both Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa surprised Casey Stoner, relegating him from pole to third place at the opening corner. An aggressive Pedrosa overtook Lorenzo a few corners in, followed by Stoner before the end of lap one. However, only four corners later, Pedrosa lost the front end of his bike on the slowest part of the circuit and crashed out. He returned to his Honda RC213V, but after seeing the damage caused he headed back to the pits and Lorenzo was left with the title confirmed.
Stoner kept extending his lead over Lorenzo, until he finally crossed the line nine seconds in front. His fifth win of the year —and sixth at Phillip Island in MotoGP— was a fine goodbye to the track before he retires in two weeks after the Valencia GP.
Dani Pedrosa >> Audio
Fall
“It’s a sad feeling more than disappointment; I pushed as hard as I could; I did what I had to do and I have no regrets for my riding, especially this season. I feel very proud of my team and of my performance throughout the year. I think after what happened in Misano, we showed a very good attitude, skill and power. So, there is some sadness because we’ve been closer than ever to take the title, but also proud for all we achieved. Concerning the crash, it was nothing strange; I just went wider on the corner, I had some chatter and lost the front; maybe the tyre was not warm enough as well, but it’s like it is. Congratulations to Casey [Stoner] for his sixth win at his home Grand Prix and to Lorenzo because he deserved the championship, as well as Marc Márquez in Moto2”.
Casey Stoner >> Audio
1st – 41:01.324
“It was very important for me to win a race before the end of the season and I’m really happy to do it here, at home, in front of the huge crowd. My biggest worry was to be fit again and competitive for this race, but we managed it and we had something over everyone else and this was the perfect way to say goodbye here. I was pretty nervous going into the race but the conditions were fantastic for a Phillip Island race! When I knew I only had a few laps left and a big lead, I was watching the crowd and it was fantastic to see everyone cheering me on, it made me very proud to be Australian. My biggest congratulations to Jorge [Lorenzo], he’s ridden an almost perfect season finishing 1st or 2nd when possible and I’m just disappointed not to be in the championship fight, but I made my own mistakes and this is how things go. My condolences to Dani [Pedrosa] —I saw him crash out in front of me— but he had to push today and go out and win the race to keep his championship hopes alive. It was a small mistake, easy to do in this corner and I feel very sorry for him. Thanks to everyone for coming down and showing their support!”.
