AUSTRALIA was ready and anxious to celebrate Casey Stoner's securing the 2007
MotoGP world championship at Motegi, Japan, yesterday. But the little man himself wasn't
counting on achieving it, not after a troubled qualifying session on Saturday, when he
finished ninth fastest, his worst starting position of the season.
Stoner needed to beat Valentino Rossi at Motegi and this is never a fait accompli. "We
didn't really expect to get it [the title] this race," Stoner admitted soon after sealing the
championship with a cerebral ride to sixth place, and still reeling from the tidal wave of
post-race joy.
Stoner is the third Australian, after Wayne Gardner in 1987 and Michael Doohan (1994-
1998), to take the 500cc/MotoGP crown.
The rider with the face of a high-school kid won the title in only his second season in
MotoGP, which followed four years learning his craft in the rough-and-tumble 125cc and
250cc world championships.
Doohan, who was at Motegi to see Stoner's triumph, shovelled on the praise: "He's gone
head-to-head with Valentino Rossi, one of the greatest riders of all time, and come out
on top so there's nothing lucky about it," the five-times champion said.
"To put it in context, what Casey has done would be like a 21-year-old Aussie kid beating
Tiger Woods at golf, or Roger Federer at tennis.
"Today's race was tough for all the riders because of the weather … but Casey rode
smart like he has all year. All he had to do was finish ahead of Valentino, and he did.
Casey has had an almost flawless season, with eight wins and scoring points in every
race so far. That's the consistency you need to win championships."
Stoner is the second-youngest premier-class world champion after Freddie Spencer.
click on ozzy go to the full story on smh.com.au - picture from motograndprix.it
The Stoner File
Age: 21. Born: Southport, Queensland. Lives: Monaco.
Bike: Ducati Team Desmosedici GP7.
Grand Prix starts: 92 (31 MotoGP, 31 250cc, 30 125cc).
Grand Prix wins: 15 (8 MotoGP, 5 250cc, 2 125cc).
World championships: 1 (MotoGP, 2007)
First Grand Prix: Britain 2001 (125cc)
First Grand Prix win: Valencia 2003 (125cc)
Pole positions: 10 (6 MotoGP, 2 250cc 2 125cc)
First pole: Italy 2003 (125cc)
2007 MotoGP championship standings after Motegi
1. Casey Stoner (Australia) Ducati 297 - clinched world title
2. Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha 214
3. Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 188
4. John Hopkins (US) Suzuki 156
5. Chris Vermeulen (Australia) Suzuki 152