Racing: Phillip Island beckons as MotoGP title race heats up

The 2009 MotoGP World Championship season continues to near its climax at Phillip Island from October 16-18 as the battle for the title intensifies.

Jorge Lorenzo narrowed the gap on his Fiat Yamaha teammate, reigning champion and current standings leader Valentino Rossi with victory at Estoril, where Rossi finished a distant fourth as his championship lead over the Spaniard was cut from 30 to 18pts with three races remaining.

Lorenzo's win was the 10th for a Yamaha rider this year, leaving the manufacturer one short of its most successful year ever - 2005. Indeed, Lorenzo and Rossi have alternated wins since the Italian won in Brno, and a win for either in Australia would equal the longest-ever sequence of successive victories for Yamaha in the premier class, a feat they achieved in both 2005 and 2008.

In Phillip Island, Rossi will arrive at a circuit that harbours fond memories, and one which he has stated as a personal favourite. In his 12 visits to the track across all classes the reigning world champion has only once failed to finish on the podium, with five consecutive victories from 2001-2005 in the MotoGP class forming the body of a standout record.

"Estoril was a great disappointment but we have to look at the positive and consider that we still came fourth and took 13pts in these conditions," said Rossi. "I know that Yamaha have been studying the data very hard to understand what went wrong for us, and we hope that the situation in Phillip Island will be very different.

"I love this track and have some of the greatest memories of my career there and I really want to be in the best shape for this race.

"It's too long since I've won there! I think that the championship is going to be a great fight to the end with Lorenzo, but the next two tracks especially are two of my best."

Rossi has not won in his last three outings Down Under and, with main title rival Lorenzo putting together a strong finale to his season, the pressure is intensifying.

Two wins and a runner-up spot in his last three races is fine form from Lorenzo, who finished fourth last year at Phillip Island on his MotoGP debut on the track from second on the grid, and has twice tasted victory there in the 250cc class.

"I am very happy after my fourth victory this year and now my target is to confirm second place in the championship in Australia," said Lorenzo. "I have the chance it if I get a lot of points! This has been my aim all year and I will fight to get it as soon as possible.

"Phillip Island is a track that I love, it's always special to race there and in my opinion it's the most beautiful circuit in the championship, along with Mugello.

"I am riding at 250km/h, but I can still see the sea and the birds, it's incredible! Last year I couldn't get the on the podium, but I will always remember 2007, when I won with 20 seconds gap. All my team is confident and determined to get more good results in these two important weeks!"

Australian Casey Stoner's impressive return to action in Portugal after a three-race absence means there is an added component to an already intriguing equation, with the Ducati Marlboro rider finishing second behind Lorenzo at Estoril.

Stoner's consecutive start-to-finish wins on his home track for the past two years mean that he will provide stern competition for both Yamaha factory riders, and at just 3pts behind third-placed Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) in the championship standings the Australian has his own immediate goal.

"I'm looking forward to Phillip Island," said Stoner. "In Portugal I was able to get to the end of the race weekend without problems, just the predictable tiredness after a full MotoGP race, following two months of inactivity.

"So maybe I'll be a bit more ready for Phillip Island now. Besides that the temperature down there is a bit colder than other races we go to and that suits better my physical conditions at the moment. The track is awesome -- it's fast, flowing and there isn't really a section that the riders don't enjoy."

Pedrosa has recovered from his crash and subsequent 10th place finish at Indianapolis by finishing third consecutively in Misano and Estoril, and with a DNF blemishing his record at Phillip Island last year after a first-lap crash he will be determined to not only rediscover the kind of ride that brought him a 250cc victory there in 2005, but also hold off the challenge of Stoner in the championship.

Pedrosa's teammate Andrea Dovizioso placed seventh at Phillip Island in his rookie season last year. He triumphed at 125cc level in the 2004 race - beating Lorenzo and Stoner - and will hope to continue building on an encouraging second season in the top class, which currently sees him sitting fifth in the championship, 8pts ahead of Colin Edwards (Monster Tech 3 Yamaha).

The American rounds off the top six as it stands in the championship, with a sizeable 37pt buffer over nearest competitor Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki). Edwards' best-ever result at Phillip Island was fourth place in 2004, when he rode a Honda, and the Texan is seeking only his second podium finish of the season.

Following on from Edwards and Capirossi in sixth and seventh spots respectively, Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda), Marco Melandri (Hayate Racing) and Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini) complete the current top 10 in the MotoGP rankings.

Australian Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki), who will head back to the world superbike title in 2010, is hoping for a good result at a circuit where the Suzuki MotoGP bike has traditionally struggled with excessive wheelspin.

"A home GP is always very exciting because all my friends and family will be there and it's always good to race in front of your countrymen," said Vermeulen. "The last time out at Estoril we made improvements in the longer corners with the GSV-R, so hopefully that will help us at Phillip Island.

"That long straight is going to be hard work, but we'll certainly be trying as hard as we can to keep in the slipstream. I really love racing at Phillip Island and hopefully we'll have a good time there!"

There will be a host of other on-track and off-track activities at Phillip Island, and tickets are still available.