strang
12-26-2008, 10:53 AM
Casey Stoner won his second straight Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island, leading throughout from pole position for a 6.5-second victory over Valentino Rossi. The 2007 world champion finished the 27-lap race in 40 minutes, 56.643seconds. Valentino Rossi had an absolutely stunning race, finishing second on the podium even after starting 12th on the grid due to a crash in qualifying on Saturday a mishap that left him with minor head and neck injuries and a massive headache on Sunday morning.
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The Italian knifed his Yamaha through the field until he caught American Honda rider Nicky Hayden, who had spent most of the race in second place desperately trying to match Stoner's pace. On the last lap, Rossi executed a masterful passing manoeuvre on Hayden to snatch second spot by seven-tenths of a second. Spaniard Dani Pedrosa (Honda), third in the world championship behind Rossi and Stoner, failed to complete a lap, spearing off the track at the first turn. "For me it was a very exciting race, I couldn't relax for a second," Rossi said. "Starting on the fourth row is very difficult but I was confident we had a good pace.
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The Italian knifed his Yamaha through the field until he caught American Honda rider Nicky Hayden, who had spent most of the race in second place desperately trying to match Stoner's pace. On the last lap, Rossi executed a masterful passing manoeuvre on Hayden to snatch second spot by seven-tenths of a second. Spaniard Dani Pedrosa (Honda), third in the world championship behind Rossi and Stoner, failed to complete a lap, spearing off the track at the first turn. "For me it was a very exciting race, I couldn't relax for a second," Rossi said. "Starting on the fourth row is very difficult but I was confident we had a good pace.