Facrory Yamaha superpower Jorge Lorenzo took full advantage of a catastrophic error by MotoGP title rival Dani Pedrosa to secure his second premier class crown in Australia.
The Spaniard, who lifted the world title for the first time in 2010 on the 800cc Yamaha, finished second at the stunning Phillip Island circuit to guarantee the championship with one round remaining at Valencia in Spain in November.
Home hero Casey Stoner was in a different league as he dominated practice and qualifying before producing an awesome masterclass on the Repsol Honda RC213V to complete a record sixth win in succession by more than nine seconds.
It was an emotional success for Stoner, who is poised to retire from motorcycling following the final race of the season.
British rider Cal Crutchlow claimed his second career MotoGP podium finish for the Tech 3 Yamaha team as he finished third in a repeat of his breakthrough result at Brno in the Czech Republic.
Lorenzo - who will be joined in the works Yamaha team in 2013 by old rival Valentino Rossi - savoured the moment as the realisation of his second MotoGP world title began to sink in.
The 25-year-old described the achievement as ‘special’.
“I’m really happy with this championship, because only we know how difficult it is to fight with riders like Casey and Dani, and to fight with factories like Honda,” said Lorenzo, who held an advantage of 23 points over Pedrosa prior to the penultimate round.
“It is very hard. You must be very consistent. Never make a mistake, always try to finish all the races - stay very focused.
“So today is a special day and I want to thank all my team, Yamaha, my family, friends, sponsors and everyone that believed in me and wanted me to win.”
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