The countdown is nearly over with just one day left to wait until the action starts at the Australian round of the MotoGP.
It’s high time to salute Casey Stoner, the one and only rider to make the Island his own.
Of the 162 premier-class race laps run at Phillip Island between 2007 and 2012, Casey Stoner led 160 of them. He is the only rider to have won six straight races at Australia’s blistering-fast Phillip Island Circuit. But none more special for Stoner and his fans than his 2011 title-winning victory.
He’d had a stellar season with 14 podiums from 15 races, he arrived in Australia with a firm grip on the title trophy and a 40-point buffer over Jorge Lorenzo. It was Stoner’s 26th birthday when the number 27 rider completed 27 laps to cross the line ahead of Marco Simoncelli to win his second MotoGP World Championship in front of a huge and adoring home crowd.
His first Island win was a special one, too. He arrived at the Australian Circuit after being crowned World Champion the week before in Motegi, Japan. “I want to win the race at Phillip Island,” the newly crowned world champion said in 2007. “It’s the one race that I haven’t been able to win yet.”
And win it he did. He crossed the line nearly seven seconds clear of teammate Loris Capirossi and fierce rival Valentino Rossi. “This is the most special of my wins,” he said at the time. “I’ve worked a long time to win this race.”
The following year wasn’t all that different. He started from pole position after setting a new lap record with a 1m28.665 and, for the second year in a row, Stoner thrilled his 50,500-strong home crowd with a dominant victory. With three laps to go, he had an eight-second gap on championship winner and fierce rival Valentino Rossi.
The 2009 race was another Rossi verse Stoner affair. Rossi was leading the title and his main championship rival Jorge Lorenzo had crashed out of the race on the first corner of the opening lap after Stoner got the holeshot. Rossi stalked Stoner diligently looking for an opening that never materialised. In commemorative white livery, Casey Stoner crossed the line ahead of Rossi by 1.935sec to take his third consecutive home GP victory.
Casey Stoner went one better in 2010. From his third pole position of the season and to the delight of over 41,000 Aussie fans, Casey Stoner dominated the 2010 Australian MotoGP to claim victory by a whopping 8.598sec over championship leader Jorge Lorenzo. On the way, posted the fastest lap of the race on lap seven.
Having clinched his second title the year before, the 2012 Australian MotoGP was to be the last time Australian fans would witness Casey Stoner racing at Phillip Island after he announced his retirement earlier in the season. He blitzed the field with his most dominant win to date, crossing the line over nine seconds ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, whose title-winning second-place was overshadowed by Casey’s brilliant swan song.
The 2012 event was made all the more special by being the first time in 33 years Australia had celebrated an Aussie on three Grand Prix podiums. A second-place finish by Moto2 rider Anthony West and a third-place finish from Moto3 rider Arthur Sissis built the atmosphere for Casey’s perfect crescendo.