The penultimate round of the 2012 MotoGP World Championship is the Australian Grand Prix at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit in Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia.
This is a very picturesque area with much farmland surrounding it. If Jorge Lorenzo wins today's race, he'll win the title. But, if native son Casey Stoner wins, he'll have six wins at his home track. Stoner will give 110% for sure and loves this track. Turn three has been named after Casey Stoner. Stoner's countryman, Chad Reed (U.S. Supercross champion) is in attendance at the race this weekend. Ben Spies is out after his crash. He won't start this race and may not start the season finale.
In practice, it was very cold, and here are the qualifying results. Rain came just before the end of the session. Casey Stoner set pole at 1:29.623 with Jorge Lorenzo second, and Dani Pedrosa, third. Randy de Puniet qualified ninth just ahead of Nicky Hayden. Colin Edwards qualifies sixteenth. Cal Crutchlow qualified well, but has been suffering from bronchitis and a fever this weekend. Ivan Silva starts caboose on the field.
The bikes set off on their warmup lap. Philip Island is a unique track according to riders. There are twelve turns with just two slow ones. It will be called Stoner Curve.
At the start, Jorge Lorenzo does a wheelie but gets the lead going into the Southern Loop. Coming thorugh Stoner Curve and Honda Corner, Dani Pedrosa takes the lead away from Jorge Lorenzo. This race will be 27 laps. Coming over Lukey Heights and into turn ten, the bikes fly on the straight. Stoner is up to second. Stoner is reeling in Pedrosa. However, it's over for Pedrosa! He falls down! He's out of this race! Jorge Lorenzo will be champion. Pedrosa is back on his bike, but pushed too hard and ditched his bike. The race enters it's third lap with Stoner running fastest lap at 1:30 and a half.
Pedrosa went too deep and low sided the bike. Casey Stoner is trying to gap Jorge Lorenzo right now as Pedrosa retires. There's a three way battle for the podium. It's the satellite Yamaha's and Honda's. Cal Crutchlow, Andrea Dovizioso, Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl all scrap. Crutchlow wants a podium after failing to finish in Japan and Malaysia. Stoner wiggles the bike big time, but he holds on. Jorge Lorenzo has to ride his own race. Next year, he'll team with Valentino Rossi. The train of the Tech 3 Yamaha's and the two Honda's continues to chug right along.
Casey Stoner is a full second faster than Jorge Lorenzo. Crutchlow, Dovizioso, Bradl, and Bautista, are all faster in lap time than Lorenzo. Cal Crutchlow runs a 1:31 flat and is 7/10ths quicker than Lorenzo. Colin Edwards is out of this race. Meanwhile, Alvaro Bautista is battling Andrea Dovizioso. Lorenzo is matching Stoner's lap times but is still three seconds behind. Stoner, Pedrosa, and Lorenzo all have 44 wins in various Grand Prix level motorcycle races. Stoner could make it 45 today.
Valentino Rossi leads a train with Karel Abraham and Nicky Hayden. Aleix Espargaro and Randy de Puniet battle for CRT honors. de Puniet is running well, but CRT bikes can't keep up with the prototype bikes. It's just like the old two stroke vs. four stroke battle in the 500cc days. Sixteen laps to run yet. Stoner runs across the whole of the curb in turn three named after him and is going very well. Stoner, (like Mick Doohan, and Barry Sheene, before him), will be another great Aussie motorcycle rider.
Cal Crutchlow is now in third, but Alvaro Bautista gets shocked by Stefan Bradl into Doohan corner, after the bikes come down Gardner straight (named for another Aussie motorcycle champ, Wayne Gardner). The bikes fly through Lukey Heights and into MG corner. Nicky Hayden set the lap record at Philip Island in 2008 and Stoner could break it, maybe. That was back in the days of 800cc MotoGP bikes instead of 1000cc machines. Twelve laps left to run now. Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden scrap for seventh. Randy de Puniet, Alvaro Bautista, and others, are running between ninth and twelfth spots.
Casey Stoner is having a great send off in his home race and still could win it. Alvaro Bautista is still chasing Andrea Dovizioso in this battle for fifth. Roberto Rolfo is out of the race. Rolfo has won at Philip Island, in the old 250cc class. Seven laps left to run. Alvaro Bautista is great on the brakes. Former World Champion Alex Barros was also a master at braking technique. Aleix Espargaro has passed Randy de Puniet, and is now tenth, leading among the CRT bikes. Bautista is trying to pass Dovizioso. But, it's doubtful he will.
Stefan Bradl is doing point and squirt maneuvers more than his pursuers. With tire wear, riders will square off turns and have to manage the front tire. Jorge Lorenzo passes Ivan Silva. Four laps left in the race. Jorge Lorenzo is on his way to a MotoGP championship title. Dovizioso and Bautista have passed Bradl with four laps left. Coming into Lukey Heights, this battle is far from over. Stoner will get his 40th win in top level motorcycle racing. Danilo Petrucci is 13th and he'll get a good finish in his first race at Philip Island.
Will Petrucci run next year? We'll see. Casey Stoner is mastering this track. Michele Pirro gets loose but continues. The scrap between Dovizioso, Bradl et al is hot and heavy just before the end. Randy de Puniet and Aleix Espargaro continue trading spots for CRT honors. Bautista passes Dovizioso and so does Bradl, on the last lap. Casey Stoner will win this race, and Jorge Lorenzo will be champion. Dovizioso is flying, and his bike begins to shake. Did Stoner's knee hit the dirt? Yes. But he holds on. He comes through Lukey Heights again.
Jorge Lorenzo is going to win another MotoGP championship. Casey Stoner wins it! He earns his sixth straight win at Philip Island. Meanwhile, Jorge Lorenzo is the champ!
#1 Casey Stoner AUS Honda
World Champion:
#99 Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha
This is Lorenzo's second title! He had sixteen top two finishes in seventeen races, making him champion for the second time, also winning the title two years ago, in 2010. Lorenzo and Stoner are both enjoying the admiration of the crowd. Lorenzo is parading his bike around the track. Will he wear the #1 plate in 2013? It's his choice if he wants to or not. He does a burnout in celebration. He ios ecstatic and his crew surrounds him as he's on the bike, standing on the fuel tank.
Jorge Lorenzo earns 350 points in clinching his title. There are still positions to play for, headed into the final race. Honda wins the teams title and could win the constructors title. Just one more race remains in MotoGP in 2012. It's going to be in Valencia, Spain, coming up in two weeks.
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