MotoGP results: Stoner dominates

Australian rider Casey Stoner has tightened his grip on the 2011 MotoGP championship with dominating performances at the weekend's grand prix in Aragon, Spain.

Not only did Stoner set the pace in qualifying, recording the fastest ever pole position at the MotorLand circuit with a 1.48.451, but he also snatched the win, providing the Repsol Honda team with an historic 100th victory.

Repsol Honda's first victory in the premier class was thanks to another Australian champion back in 1995, Mick Doohan, at Eastern Creek raceway.

but he also took the 100th victory for the Respol Honda Team since the partnership was formed in 1995 where fellow Australian Mick Doohan won the very first race for the factory HRC team in Eastern Creek.

After the race Stoner was very happy with how the race panned out and thanked the team for the historic win: "A big, big thank you to the whole team and to take this hundredth win for Repsol Honda is something special."

Dani Pedrosa gave the Honda factory team a one-two, while Jorge Lorenzo - the only man who can still challenge Stoner for the championship - finished in third place.

"Before the race everyone was a little cautious with the wind picking up after the morning warm up and conditions being a lot different to those we have seen all weekend," explained Stoner after the race. "Our start was pretty average, I pulled to the left a little on the start and managed to avoid hitting Dani [Pedrosa], but Ben [Spies] came around the outside and I ended up third or fourth going into turn one but from there we were able to settle down and feel comfortable with the bike.

"I think everyone was struggling with tyres to some degree, but the bike was fantastic and I don't mind when the bike slides around a little!" added Stoner.

Taking 25 points for the win, Stoner now commands a 44 point margin over Yamaha rider Lorenzo with four races to go - Japan, Australia, Malaysia and Valencia. While Stoner now maintains a healthy margin over Lorenzo, it's not over until the fat lady sings, as they say, but if Stoner can win his fifth consecutive race at Phillip Island he could seal the championship on home turf.

“We struggled a lot from the beginning of the race, losing positions and having to recover step by step," noted Jorge Lorenzo. "We couldn’t get more than a podium; that is the best result we could get today! I didn’t have confidence in the rear and it is impossible to catch Dani on this track. It's a pity, but at least I got the podium I couldn't get last year. We are still fighting for the Championship and that's the most important thing, we are going to Japan with hope still alive."

As Stoner took the win at the Gran Premio de Aragón, with team mate Pedrosa in second and Yamaha rider Lorenzo in third, fourth place went to Marco Simoncelli riding for San Carlo Honda Gresini Team, who is showing a more measured attitude to racing than he did earlier in the season.

Yamaha factory rider Ben Spies managed fifth after leading the race briefly on the first lap, and Alvaro Bautista managed an impressive sixth place on his Suzuki - and after starting in 11th place. Ducati rider Nicky Hayden took out seventh spot, while Héctor Barberá - also on a Ducati - managed eight place.

Yamaha Tech 3 rider Cal Crutchlow was ninth, Valentino Rossi could only managed 10th, and Hiroshi Aoyama, Randy de Puniet and Colin Edwards finished in 11th, 12th and 13th respectively.

Toni Elias, Loris Capirossi, Andrea Dovizioso and Karel Abraham did not finish.

Racing heads to Motegi for the Japanese grand prix on October 2, which has been dogged with controversy for the past few months due to concern regarding radiation levels after the Fukushima nuclear power plant began leaking earlier in the year.

However radiation levels at the Motegi circuit in Japan is said to be within safe levels and it is expected that most riders will now attend.