Title could be icing on cake for b’day boy Casey Stoner

Saturday, 15 October 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Casey Stoner’s switch to Honda after his last few frustrating seasons with Ducati could pay off spectacularly on Sunday with the Australian poised to celebrate his 26th birthday with a second MotoGP world championship at his home grand prix.

Stoner, gunning for a fifth consecutive win on the scenic Phillip Island circuit, can seal the title with victory as long as second-placed Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo is not standing either side of him on the podium at the end of the day.

Reigning world champion Lorenzo is 40 points behind Stoner with three races left and will want to put Stoner’s championship champagne on ice for at least another week until the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang.

Phillip Island was the beginning of the end for the Spaniard’s own championship ambitions in 2009 when he ended up on the gravel at the very first turn, but the Yamaha-rider finished second to Stoner last year, albeit by a yawning eight seconds.

Stoner, not one for making bullish predictions, downplayed his chances of wrapping up the title on home soil.“My chance of a championship this weekend is very, very slim to almost none,” he told reporters.

“The most important thing for me is to try to win the race. It’s a race I want to win. I wanted to win as well in Japan but I wasn’t able to, so we’ll try to bounce back here.”

Despite the guarded outlook, Stoner, who won the last four at the circuit on the Ducati he rode to the 2007 world title, recovered from an early crash to record the quickest lap in first free practice on Friday.

His lap of one minute, 30.475 seconds was nearly three-tenths quicker than Lorenzo, with Honda-riding Italian Marco Simoncelli clocking the third-fastest time.

Stoner managed three wins on the Ducati last year despite rarely feeling satisfied with the bike’s performance and it seems his frustrations have been inherited by seven-times premier class champion Valentino Rossi.

Rossi faces the possibility of passing his first season without a victory, and despite his team’s constant tweaking to optimise the bike, questions have emerged about the 32-year-old Italian’s motivation.

“I think it’s definitely the bike (problems) but also he’s been around for a number of years now and I think that’s making life a little bit tough for him,” five-times world champion Mick Doohan told Reuters on Friday.

“I think many athletes have only around about that 10-year window to fully immerse yourself into a sport ... He’s now well and truly into that level, so it’s (whether) he’s willing to push himself to a position where he might hurt himself.

“Although, if the bike was right I believe he’d be able to challenge for a win and maybe the championship.”

Australian Doohan, who won all of his five titles with Honda before his career ended with a crash in 1999, said Stoner’s thoughts would be far from the world title shot on Sunday.

“If it all falls into place this weekend, all well and good but Lorenzo’s world champion, so he’s no slouch.

“(Stoner) doesn’t really care about it, it would be a fantastic birthday gift for him to win the race and the championship here but when all’s said and done it’s about bringing home the prize.

“No one remembers where you won the championship, just whether you did.”