Physical problems no longer an issue for Stoner

A strong display on his home circuit at the Iveco Australian Grand Prix brought Casey Stoner victory at Phillip Island for the third successive year, and signalled his return to full fitness.

Having struggled with his endurance and requiring a three-race break, Stoner returned to action at Estoril where he secured second spot, before his third win of the season on his home track on Sunday.

Stoner enjoyed a battle with championship leader Valentino Rossi for the win and was victorious by a margin of 1.935s after starting from pole position, securing his first win since Mugello.

“It’s not been our year to challenge for the championship and that’s a little bit disappointing, but at least we’ve had a good run and learnt a lot of things. So it’s definitely not all bad,” said Stoner. “To come back in Portugal was a really nice result for us. Jorge (Lorenzo) was too quick on the day but we almost had the pace to win the race, and we’re very proud of the team to have come back that quickly. This race, after the warm up in Portugal, was just a run off of that. “

“We struggled all weekend with rear grip and were trying to get the bike hooked up a little bit better out of turns, but I think everybody was suffering from similar problems. So we did the best we could for the race, and the bike was working pretty well.”

The 2007 World Champion went on to add, “Physically, I was able to do the same from start to finish, and I was just really happy with the way everything was working. Especially with my body; every lap I kept going past the point where I used to just hit my wall. It made me smile, and I enjoyed each lap after that. It’s very nice to be back here, and I thank Marlboro for allowing me to use this livery and to the team and everybody for supporting me. To do three from three is a very nice way to end the year for me.”