Jorge Lorenzo has been crowned MotoGP champion for the second time in his career
Spain's Jorge Lorenzo won the MotoGP world championship after finishing runner-up to Casey Stoner at Phillip Island.
Last Updated: 28/10/12 9:15pm
The Yamaha rider effectively clinched his second world title when main rival Dani Pedrosa came off his bike after losing control on turn four during the second lap and retired from the race.
Lorenzo led the championship by 23 points coming into the race and only needed to finish three points ahead of Pedrosa to regain the title he first won in 2010.
And, having narrowly avoided becoming embroiled in his fellow Spaniard's crash, Lorenzo was content to cruise around behind Stoner and wrap up the championship ahead of the final race in Valencia on 11 November.
Stoner's Repsol Honda was the dominant bike of the weekend, the Aussie having clinched pole position with a lap more than half a second quicker than Lorenzo.
And, to the delight of a raucous home crowd, Stoner continued his dominance in the race itself, finishing more than nine seconds clear to secure a sixth straight victory Down Under.
Stoner will retire at the end of the season and this was a remarkable win because he has only just returned after suffering torn ligaments and fractures to his ankle, tibia and fibula in a crash during qualifying for the Indianapolis MotoGP in mid-August.
Great Britain's Cal Crutchlow finished third on another Yamaha, matching his best finish of the season.
Special day
Lorenzo said: "I'm really happy with this championship, because only we know how difficult it is to fight with riders like Casey, like Dani, and to fight with a factory like Honda. It is very hard.
"You must be very consistent, never make a mistake and always try to finish the races and be very focused, so today is a very special day."
