Casey Stoner took victory at his home MotoGP to claim the 2011 MotoGP World Championship.

It was a strange race from the start, as both factory Yamaha riders were unable to take part – Ben Spies was suffering from his high-speed crash from yesterday, and Jorge Lorenzo, the only rider that could still challenge Stoner on points, was declared unfit to ride after injuring his finger in the warm up sessions.

With Lorenzo out of the race, Bautista found himself promoted to the front row of the grid.

Jorge Lorenzo’s absence in the race meant the pressure was off Stoner, however the Australian clearly had no plans to take things easy and collect points – by the 4th lap Stoner had powered off for the rest of the riders and had a 4 second lead. Stoner remained untouchable at the front and his lead remained unchallenged.

A shower of rain towards the end of the race caused issues for many riders. Nicky Hayden was the first to enter the pits and switch bikes, but the wet conditions caught out Cal Crutchlow, Alvaro Bautista, Hiroshi Aoyama, and Karel Abraham, who all crashed out.

Full MotoGP race results from Phillip Island below:

1. Casey Stoner Repsol Honda Team 42m02.425s
2. Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini + 2.210
3. Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team + 2.454
4. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team + 13.160
5. Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 30.886
6. Randy De Puniet Pramac Racing Team + 48.800
7. Nicky Hayden Ducati Team + 1:16.314
8. Toni Elias LCR Honda MotoGP + 1 lap
9. Loris Capirossi Pramac Racing Team + 1 lap
10. Karel Abraham Cardion AB Motoracing + 2 laps

Retirements:

Rider Team Laps
Alvaro Bautista Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 4 laps
Hiroshi Aoyama San Carlo Honda Gresini 4 laps
Cal Crutchlow Monster Yamaha Tech 3 4 laps
Valentino Rossi Ducati Team 14 laps

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