Stoner hopes to win title at Phillip Island to celebrate 26th birthday
A fifth consecutive victory in next week’s IVECO Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island could deliver Casey Stoner his second MotoGP World Championship.
Defending champion Jorge Lorenzo of Spain has virtually conceded the title claiming he has run out of time to claw back Stoner’s 40 point lead.
Stoner, the home favourite, has dominated MotoGP at the Island since 2007 winning four straight races with Ducati. He is now the spearhead of a resurgent Honda team as Ducati struggle with poor form without a victory this season.
If Stoner wins at the Island and Lorenzo finishes fourth or worse then Stoner will be world champion with two races remaining.
If Lorenzo does not finish at the Island then Stoner only has to finish sixth to secure a second MotoGP title to go with his 2007 crown.
“I look forward to racing at Phillip Island every year, it is one of the few tracks I really enjoy,” Stoner said.
“The Honda should work well there so I’m looking forward to seeing what I can achieve. If you win races the championship will take care of itself.
“There is a possibility to win it at the Island which would be fantastic but I’m not thinking about it too much. I have less pressure this year.”
Stoner has won eight races this season and his worst result is third, apart from a non-finish at Jerez in April when he was knocked out of a podium place by Rossi.
Stoner leads Lorenzo, 300 points to 260, heading into the Island race. Lorenzo, riding a Yamaha, has finished fourth in two of the past five races. Stoner won both of these events, at Indianapolis and Brno (Czech Rep.), and despite retaining a slim chance, Lorenzo says the title is Stoner’s for the taking.
“It’s too late, even if I won the last three races including Australia it still doesn’t give me the world title,” Lorenzo said.
“Casey must finish further back than second in each race and in my mind I don’t see this situation unless there is something strange.
“Maybe I can win some races but I can’t see winning three races, it is too late with the bike we have.”
Stoner will be making his 99th career start in MotoGP at the Australian Grand Prix. He has 31 MotoGP wins since joining the premier class in 2006 making him one of the most successful riders in the sport and level with Eddie Lawson, America’s 4-time world champion.
Stoner also turns 26 on race day, Sunday 16 October, and a race win would just add to the celebrations.
