MELBOURNE — Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo secured his second MotoGP world championship as he finished second in the Australian GP on Sunday. Australian Casey Stoner won at Phillip Island for the sixth year in a row, but Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa crashed out of the lead.
Pedrosa, who needed to finish ahead of fellow Spaniard Lorenzo to keep the title race alive going into the final race of the season, crashed on lap two.
Briton Cal Crutchlow claimed third, his second podium finish of the season.
Yamaha rider Lorenzo, who first won the title in 2010 started the race with a 23-point advantage over Pedrosa and was as good as handed the title when Pedrosa crashed out.
Stoner, who retires at the end of the season, had been dominant from first practice on Friday and was able to cruise to a his fifth victory of the season.
“This moment is so sweet for me,” Lorenzo told BBC Sport. “I’ve been very patient and concentrating hard for so long and now the title has come.
“I was nervous in the last few laps. I almost crashed in turn two but I brought it home.” —BBC Sport
