The British rider made one of his trademark blistering starts from fourth on the grid to sweep into the lead entering the super-fast first corner and the 18-year-old produced a brilliant display of attacking riding to lead the field until lap five. Scott remained in the podium hunt until the halfway stage before he became locked in a typically frenetic Moto2 battle with Pol Espargaro, Kenan Sofuoglu, Andrea Iannone and Mike di Meglio for fifth.

Battling a fierce and unpredictable wind in sunny but cool conditions, Scott led the group in fifth place until three laps from the end. But despite his best efforts to score a fourth top six finish of the season, he had to settle for seventh after superbly defending his position against a hard charging Iannone and di Meglio on the last lap.

Scott Redding #45: 7th Position
“I got another mega start and just decided to get my head down and push as hard as I could because all weekend I’ve been missing that 0.5s that the front guys have been capable of running. We made another change to the setting of the bike for the race to try and find some more rear grip but I was struggling after a few laps to keep the pace. I felt strong at the front and it was still a really exciting battle for fifth, but the front-end felt pretty light. All weekend the wind had been lifting the front and in the race the gusts were stronger than in practice and qualifying, so in the final couple of laps when I wanted to attack for fifth I just couldn’t get close enough to try and pass. I was really strong in Turns 8 and 9 but that’s where the wind was really bad, but to get seventh is still a positive result and we’ve gained a lot of experience with the new chassis, so I’ll be looking to gas it up in Sepang next weekend.”

Michael Bartholemy – Team Manager
“Fifth position looked achievable for Scott but we can’t be too disappointed with seventh because he did a great job on a bike he’d never raced before today. I’m sure with more experience of the new chassis he will be closer to the podium, but he led the race and was always fighting to be in the top six. It is a shame that Mika experienced some grip problems because all weekend he has been very fast. He started well but the tyre seemed to lose grip quite quickly and we’ll need to analyse further why his lap times were not at the level he anticipated. It was a decent weekend for the Marc VDS Racing Team, but we will obviously be motivated and determined to do even better in Malaysia next weekend.”

Source: Marc VDS Racing

MotoGP

Casey Stoner’s second MotoGP title was achieved in fantastic fashion on Sunday when the Repsol Honda rider secured the 2011 crown on the day of his 26th birthday and at his home race, the Iveco Australian Grand Prix, taking his ninth victory of the season.

The Australian dominated the weekend for the fifth year running, leading the race from start to finish, giving Honda their first MotoGP premier class title since 2006. The 26 year-old took the holeshot from pole position and never looked back as the rest of the field battled for positions.

With a strong breeze blowing and darkening skies, the MotoGP race commenced with a rearranged grid following the withdrawal of both Yamaha Factory riders and Héctor Barberá’s substitute Damian Cudlin on the Mapfre Aspar team. Jorge Lorenzo withdrew after a crash in the morning warm up left him with a severely injured finger requiring surgery, while Ben Spies was still mildly concussed after a crash in qualifying on Saturday. Cudlin withdrew due to injuries from a crash in Saturday morning practice.

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) and Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) followed Stoner into turn one, with the Italian making an early move on Hayden to take second. Simoncelli then spent the remainder of the race tussling with Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), beating his compatriot across the line for his best MotoGP finish of second.

Dani Pedrosa was ten seconds adrift of team mate Dovizioso to finish fourth, making the top four bikes across the line all Hondas, while Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) inherited fifth place after first Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) and then Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) crashed out. Rossi fell after making a pass on Bautista, while the Suzuki man slipped toward the end of the race as rain began to fall.

The white flag had been shown on lap ten as scattered rain drops appeared, giving riders the option to swap bikes, though the rain did not start in earnest until the final couple of laps, when it claimed not only Bautista but then Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini).

Hayden was the first to enter the pits to change bikes, followed by Loris Capirossi (Pramac Racing), though it did not help their finishing positions as Hayden ended the race seventh behind Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing) despite the Frenchman having had an earlier off-track excursion, while Capirossi finished ninth behind Toni Elías (LCR Honda). The final race finisher was Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing), who crossed the line in tenth.

Moto2

Alex de Angelis won the Moto2 race for the second year running after a hard fought battle with Stefan Bradl, who regained the Championship lead with second place. Marc Márquez rode to a brilliant third place finish after starting from the back of the grid.

Following a windy and rainy morning, the Moto2 race began in sunny conditions on a dry track with Championship leader Márquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol) starting from the back of the grid after a one-minute qualifying penalty was handed to him following his collision with Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda Singha-SAG) at the end of the Friday’s first free practice session.

De Angelis, who led all three practice sessions and started on pole, took the early lead, with Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing) assuming it at the end of lap one followed by Pol Espargaró (HP Tuenti Speed Up). Bradl took the lead on lap five, holding it until a final lap showdown with De Angelis which saw the Sammarinese come out on top to take his second victory of the season.

Márquez made up plenty of ground with an extraordinary start that launched the Spanish star to midfield from his 38th position on the grid. The Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol rider steamed full speed ahead, making up ground until lap 17 where, after passing Claudio Corti (Italtrans Racing) for third, the Italian fought back and the two battled it out to the finish, with the Spaniard making a move on the last lap to put him across the line third. His third place finished combined with the second place of Bradl rearranged the Championship standings, with the German retaking the lead by three points over Márquez with two races remaining.

Espargaró was fifth after going shoulder to shoulder with Márquez for a lap, with Kenan Sofuoglu (Technomag-CIP) taking sixth followed by Redding in seventh and Andrea Iannone (Speed Master) in eighth. Front row starters Mike di Meglio (Tech 3 Racing) and Yuki Takahashi (Gresini Racing) rounded out the top ten.

125cc

Sandro Cortese achieved his second victory of the season after a chaotic start that saw a rain shower complicate matters on the starting grid, delaying the start by eight minutes to give teams time to change tyres if they chose to do so. There were patches of clear skies showing however, though it was anyone’s guess as to if it would continue to rain. A few gamblers chose wets over slicks, but it quickly became clear that the track was drying out.

Alexis Masbou (Caretta Technology Forward Team) led off the start, bumping his French compatriot and pole starter Johann Zarco (Avant-AirAsia-Ajo) on his way out to the front. Adrián Martín (Bankia Aspar) took over the lead, however shortly thereafter enter the pits to change to slicks as the track dried out. Meanwhile Championship leader Nico Terol (Bankia Aspar) sliced his way through the field after dropping back into 17th off the start.

Cortese (Intact Racing Team Germany) pulled out a six-second lead while Luis Salom (RW Racing GP) moved into second and Efrén Vázquez (Avant-AirAsia-Ajo) raced his team-mate for third, despite the fact that Zarco is the only one who still has a chance to stop Terol in taking the Championship title.

As Terol gained ground on the front runners, three laps from the end the red flag was produced due to Niklas Ajo (TT Motion Events Racing) crashing and requiring trackside attention. The final race results were determined by rolling back the standings to the previous lap, which saw Cortese the clear winner, Salom in second, and a relieved Zarco the final podium finisher.

In fourth was Vázquez, followed by Alberto Moncayo (Team Andalucía Banca Cívica) and Terol in sixth place, the Spaniard making a remarkable recovery, though the finish has cut his Championship advantage over Zarco to 25 points.

Héctor Faubel (Bankia Aspar) finished seventh, ahead of Maverick Viñales (Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing), Louis Rossi (Matteoni Racing) and Danny Webb (Mahindra Racing) who completed the top ten. Jonas Folger (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) never made it to his third place grid position due to his engine failing on the warm up lap.

Source: motogp.com

Not Classified
19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 35’43.039 171.856 4 laps
7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 35’58.374 170.635 4 laps
35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 35’58.593 170.617 4 laps
46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team

Not Classified
39 Robertino PIETRI VEN Italtrans Racing SUTER 33’19.722 160.150 5 laps
53 Valentin DEBISE FRA Speed Up FTR 34’51.537 145.463 6 laps
43 Kris McLAREN AUS BRP Racing SUTER 23’10.258 161.250 11 laps
19 Xavier SIMEON BEL Tech 3 B TECH 3 19’45.700 162.059 13 laps
16 Jules CLUZEL FRA NGM Forward Racing SUTER 20’16.109 158.006 13 laps
76 Max NEUKIRCHNER GER MZ Racing Team MZ-RE HONDA 1’44.311 153.510 24 laps
75 Mattia PASINI ITA Ioda Racing Project FTR
18 Jordi TORRES SPA Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 SUTER
34 Esteve RABAT SPA Blusens-STX FTR
13 Anthony WEST AUS MZ Racing Team MZ-RE HONDA

Not Classified
31 Niklas AJO FIN TT Motion Events Racing APRILIA 33’35.508 150.951 1 lap
36 Joan PERELLO SPA Matteoni Racing APRILIA 24’46.223 129.289 8 laps
53 Jasper IWEMA NED Ongetta-Abbink Metaal APRILIA 17’20.394 138.519 11 laps
47 Nicky DILES AUS Aprilia RSW Racing APRILIA 19’52.975 80.535 14 laps

Not starting
94 Jonas FOLGER GER Red Bull Ajo MotorSport APRILIA

Not qualified (Out 107%) 1’36.273
* 6 Damian CUDLIN AUS Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP DUCATI 1’36.666 12 12 6.691 4.163 303.8

Not qualified (Out 107%) 1’46.151
48 Alexander PHILLIS AUS Phillis QBE Racing APRILIA 1’46.200 8 11 6.993 1.024 210.8
45 Tom HATTON AUS Fastline GP Racing HONDA 1’47.583 7 16 8.376 1.383 213.3
* 46 Joshua HOOK AUS Hook Racing.com APRILIA
49 Avalon BIDDLE NZE Avalon Biddle Racing HONDA

Not qualified (Out 107%) 1’36.888
6 Damian CUDLIN AUS Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP DUCATI 1’39.777 2 2 9.227 6.371 311.3