Ducati’s Casey Stoner was not even remotely threatened by any of his adversaries and took his fourth consecutive MotoGP win in front of his home fans during the Australian Grand Prix, presented at the exciting seaside Phillip Island track, the spiritual home of every Australian rider.

Starting from pole, Stoner ran off from the rest of the field, crossing the finish line 8.5 seconds ahead of the newly crowned 2010 MotoGP champion, Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), who ran out the race all alone in second place.

The only real action on the circuit came from the battle for third between Lorenzo’s unhappy team-mate, Valentino Rossi, and Americans Ben Spies (Yamaha) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati).

Rossi fell to ninth at the start of the race, then made rapid progress and soon joined Hayden and Spies' spectacular tussle for third. While Spies dropped back a few seconds behing the other two, Rossi and 2011 team-mate-to-be Nicki Hayden fought hard over third place, with Rossi making a very physical pass on the last lap to secure that spot at the flag, and a wisened and frustrated Hayden crossing the line just 0.038s behind the Yamaha. Those two should be worth watching on the factory Ducatis next year.

Spies fell away in fifth but that was enough for the Tech 3 Yamaha rider to earn the 2010 MotoGP Rookie of the year honours, after having won the World Superbike Championship in 2009. Spies will be replacing Rossi on the Yamaha factory team in 2011, quite a progression for the lanky American who learned his trade by fighting with Mat Mladin in AMA Superbike racing.

MotoGP Australia - Results
Pos Rider Team Time/Gap
1. Casey Stoner Ducati 41m09.128s
2. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha + 8.598s
3. Valentino Rossi Yamaha + 17.997s
4. Nicky Hayden Ducati + 18.035s
5. Ben Spies Yamaha + 22.211s
6. Marco Simoncelli Honda + 25.017s
7. Colin Edwards Yamaha + 35.168s
8. Aleix Espargaro Ducati + 46.194s
9. Marco Melandri Honda + 46.294s
10. Randy de Puniet Honda + 59.635s
11. Mika Kallio Ducati + 59.664s
12. Alvaro Bautista Suzuki + 59.732s
13. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda + 1m05.029s
14. Hector Barbera Ducati + 1m05.053s

Retirement:
Andrea Dovizioso Honda 3 laps

MotoGP Standings – After 16 of 18 rounds
Pos. Rider Bike Points
1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 333 (2010 World Champion)
2. Dani Pedrosa Honda 228
3. Casey Stoner Ducati 205
4. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 197
5. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 179