Lorenzo crowned Champion as Stoner makes it six at Australian GP
It was Lorenzo that got the holeshot into turn one after a lightning
start, with Repsol Honda Team’s Dani Pedrosa close on his tail in front
of his teammate Stoner. Pedrosa was boisterous from the off and pushed
past Lorenzo within a couple of turns as he tried to pull away. Local
hero Stoner was soon all over Lorenzo and took him on the home straight
heading into lap two.
Shortly after there was huge drama as Pedrosa pushed too hard and lost the rear of his bike, with Stoner and Lorenzo closely behind. The Spaniard was able to remount, yet had to pit with the bike too damaged, leaving Lorenzo in a strong position to take the world title. As Stoner pulled away at the front in dominant fashion, an entertaining battle for third ensued being led by Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow, followed by teammate Andrea Dovizioso, San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista and LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl. In the meantime, Paul Bird Motorsport’s James Ellison crashed out of the race, while NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards had to retire due to a technical issue. With 18 laps remaining Crutchlow was on a charge as he was lapping faster than Lorenzo, dropping off Dovizioso slightly, who had Bautista stuck to his rear wheel. Behind them, Ducati Team’s Valentino Rossi was leading a battle of the Desmosedicis ahead of Cardion AB Racing’s Karel Abraham and Ducati’s Nicky Hayden. With 16 laps left Bautista made his way past Dovizioso as he came under pressure from Bradl, who overtook the Italian a lap later. Bradl was a man on a mission as he then took Bautista on the home straight, with Dovizioso following suit a few corners later. Stoner was leading at the front with Lorenzo and lonely second and Crutchlow a lonely third, yet Bautista and Dovizioso were at each other's throats throughout. With eight laps to go Speed Master’s Roberto Rolfo retired with a mechanical issue. Further afield and Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaró was tussling with teammate Randy de Puniet in their battle for CRT supremacy. With five laps remaining Dovizioso looked to have re-found his stride as he went past Bradl into fourth. A lap later Bautista capitalised on this and squeezed past the German for fifth. And two laps before the end the trio provided fairing-to-fairing action with Dovizioso leading into the last lap, and keeping this position until the line. Yet ultimately it was Stoner who made it six wins in succession at the Australian track on his final bow at his home circuit, with Lorenzo clinching his second premier-class title with one round to go. Crutchlow put in a terrific ride as he stormed to his second ever GP podium, despite suffering from illness. Dovizioso was the first non-podium finisher, followed by Bautista, Bradl, Rossi, Hayden, Abraham, as well as Espargaró, who came out on top in the CRT battle with his teammate. The race was a huge draw for the Australian crowd as an estimated 53,100 fans descended on the track on Sunday, making the estimated three-day attendance a record breaking 122,470. 1st Casey Stoner - courtesy of Repsol Honda Team
"What a day! I’m very happy, it was easier than I expected because Dani
made a mistake in a corner and crashed. I wanted to keep with Casey but
he was so strong. Today all I had to do was finish the race and I have
become World Champion for the second time. It’s such a sweet feeling! I
want to thank all the team, Yamaha, my family, my friends, sponsors and
fans that support me. Today is an amazing moment. We’ve been very
patient, very concentrated and finally the World title arrives!” 3rd Cal Crutchlow - courtesy of Monster Yamaha Tech 3. "I am really happy with this result because it is a great way to finish this period of three races in a row. After the disappointment of running out of fuel while battling for the podium on the last lap in Japan and then crashing in Sepang, I really needed a positive result here and that's what we've got. Considering how ill I've felt with the fever and bronchitis, to be back on the podium is a fantastic feeling and we definitely deserved it. Another podium is a great result and we've backed up the third in Brno. It was a big thrill to be on the podium here with Casey winning. The fans gave him a great reception and I'm glad I could be part of it. I want to say big congratulations to Yamaha and Jorge too for winning the World Championship. They have done an amazing job and they both deserve this success.” 4th Andrea Dovizioso - courtesy of Monster Yamaha Tech 3. "I knew that it was going to be a tough race because I didn't had the same pace as Cal. All I could do was to try during the first laps to get in front of him or to put him under pressure but it was not possible. He was riding very well so I decided the best strategy was not to take too many risks. The battle with Bradl and Bautista was really exciting and I had a lot of fun. I'm sure the fans appreciated it as well because we were pushing and changing places for the whole race. I am satisfied to finish in front of the group and it was a strong battle right to the chequered flag.”
DNF Dani Pedrosa - courtesy of Repsol Honda Team "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 for his sixth win at his home Grand Prix and to Lorenzo because he deserved the championship, as well as Marc Márquez in Moto2.” Moto2: Márquez takes title in Phillip Island as Espargaró wins 
Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s Marc Márquez was crowned Moto2™ World
Champion at today’s AirAsia Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island
after coming third in an enthralling race won by Tuenti Movil HP 40’s
Pol Espargaró with Anthony West second.
Pole-man Espargaró had a bad start as he was taken by Italtrans Racing Team’s Takaaki Nakagami, Márquez and Interwetten-Paddock’s Tom Lüthi in the first few bends. Yet within one lap Espargaró was leading Márquez as the Spanish duo started to spar, in front of Marc VDS Racing Team’s Scott Redding, Nakagami and JiR Moto2’s Johann Zarco. A lap later and Espargaró already looked in a league of his own as he had pulled out a significant gap over Márquez in second. With 20 laps to go Speed Master’s Andrea Iannone retired with an engine problem, as Redding made his was past Márquez into second. At the same time, QMMF Racing’s Anthony West led a big group for fourth, with Technomag-CIP’s Dominique Aegerter and Came IodaRacing Project’s Simone Corsi in tow. With 12 laps remaining Redding had not dropped off Márquez, whilst Espargaró had pulled out an enormous gap of over eight seconds. Meanwhile Lüthi looked to be struggling as he had dropped into 12th, while Espargaró’s teammate Esteve Rabat had fought his way up to sixth. And couple of laps later Lüthi’s race got even worse as he crashed out, citing a rear tyre issue. Eight laps before the end and West had dropped off his group and was edging ever closer to Márquez to challenge for third. The pursuing group fighting for fifth saw Marc VDS’ Mika Kallio and GP Team Switzerland’s Randy Krummenacher join the fight as the six of them were bunched tightly. With three laps left West made his move on Márquez much to the delight of the local crowd. The Australian then tried a move on Redding, but couldn’t make it stick, as Kallio was forced to drop his bike into the gravel after being bumped by Corsi. The action was then back at the front again as West made a brave move into second, only to then be dramatically followed by Márquez in the final corner, relegating Redding to fourth. Espargaró took the chequered flag with an enormous margin of over 16 seconds, with West taking his second ever Moto2™ podium in front of an ecstatic home crowd. The final spot on the rostrum went to Márquez, who is now the fifth Spanish rider to have won the intermediate-class, and the first to do so on a Suter bike. The first non-podium finisher in fourth was Redding ahead of Aegerter, Zarco, Corsi, Rabat, Krummenacher and Nakagami. Moto3: Cortese takes thrilling Australia win as local new talent emerges 
In a thrilling Moto3™ race at the AirAsia Australian Grand Prix at
Phillip Island it was Red Bull KTM Ajo’s World Champion Sandro Cortese
who took a strong victory ahead of Miguel Oliveira and local rider
Arthur Sissis.
AirAsia-SIC-Ajo’s Zulfahmi Khairuddin got a lighting start as he led the early stages, followed by RW Racing GP’s Luis Salom, who had made his way up from ninth. Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3’s Jonas Folger and Racing Team Germany’s Louis Rossi were in tow, as Cortese was stalking them from behind. Mahindra Racing’s weekend took a turn for the worse as Ricardo Moretti had to retire after just a few laps. In a dramatic twist, Folger, Salom, Rossi, Andalucia JHK t-shirt Laglisse’s Alberto Moncayo and Caretta Technology’s Jack Miller were given ride-through penalties for jump-starts. Rossi, before even seeing the board, made an error in the leading pack as he went onto the grass, but managed to stay upright. TT Motion Events Racing’s Niklas Ajo saved a near crash with 16 laps remaining, whilst Cortese had taken over the lead after much of the leading pack had completed their penalties. Also making use of this was Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Miguel Oliveira in second, whilst Blusens Avintia’s Maverick Viñales was tussling with Cortese’s teammate Arthur Sissis for fourth. 13 laps before the end and Ajo was not so lucky again as he dropped his bike in the gravel. Meanwhile, Team Italia FMI duo of Romano Fenati and Alessandro Tonucci, Oliveira’s teammate Alex Rins, JHK t-shirt Laglisse’s Efrén Vázquez and Red Bull’s Danny Kent had joined the group chasing the final podium spot. Folger’s teammate Luca Amato retired from the race at the halfway point. With eight laps remaining it was drama for Viñales as he crashed his bike, putting an end to his charge. Two laps later and Oliveira made his move on Cortese to take the lead for the first time. On the same lap, Racing Team Germany’s Toni Finsterbusch suffered a mechanical issue and retired from the race. Khairuddin then suffered a similar fate, as Cortese re-took the lead. The last two laps proved a thrilling affair in the fight for the final podium spot between Rins, Sissis, Kent, Fenati and Vázquez, with the riders going fairing-to-fairing at times In the end it was Cortese who crossed the line first ahead of podium sitters Oliveira and Sissis, with the Australian particularly pleased to get his first GP podium in front of his home crowd. With the country’s MotoGP star Casey Stoner retiring at the end of this year, the crowd will be happy to see that a possible replacement is coming up through the ranks. Fourth place went to Rins, followed by Kent, Fenati, Tonucci, Vázquez, Ambrogio Next Racing’s Alex Márquez and Ongetta-Centro Seta’s Isaac Viñales. Rins now leads the Rookie standings from Fenati by 5 points.
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"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, 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 - 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!" 
2nd Jorge Lorenzo -