Stoner crowned 2011 MotoGP World Champion

Samaha ISMATH ALI

To be precise, that's a right statement. The world MotoGP champion has been declared as Australian ace Casey Stoner. Hailing from the Repsol Honda team, Casey experienced the most number of victories this very action-packed racing season, alongside his two teammates Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso. The Australian made it to nine victories and six podium finishes, securing the topmost spot on the motor racing table.

The season started off to a grand kickoff at Qatar, where Stoner grabbed his first 2011 victory. Usually the wins would have been expected from Valentino Rossi, but 'The Doctor' failed to impress his fans this time. After shifting from team Yamaha to present team Ducati, the brightly coloured racer experienced many downfalls and losses, resulting in a fifth position at the end of the season.

The 2010 season had proved to be unlucky for Stoner as he had quite a number of falls on his Ducati. It seemed to be fall after fall and loss after loss for the Aussie, and Italian Jorge Lorenzo displayed a successful season on his Yamaha alongside teammate Valentino Rossi. Hailing from Spain, young Lorenzo was declared 2010 World Champion, amidst a large gathering of crazed MotoGP fans. This season, however, was not quite lucky as expected for the Italian. He and his teammate Ben Spies did bring some victories and podium finishes for their team, but the bright orange Repsol displayed more innovative racing. Alongside Stoner were his teammates who also stood on the podium for quite a number of races. It depicted a good result for the Repsol Honda team, who were vying for the coveted title right from the start.

Casey has been riding since he was a toddler, winning his first ever race at the young age of just four, and then moved onto winning a good amount of other races. He was trained by Lucio Cechinello, and has traveled all around Australia with his family. He had had a happy racing childhood and was declared Champion of the year in 2007. He was in a long term relationship with Adriana Tuchyna, and the two exchanged vows in 2007.

Casey's 2011 victory has been a 'BIG' one, he says. As the final race fell on his 26th birthday, the October 16, he mentioned it to be a 'great birthday present'. He dedicated this big victory to all those who supported him on his way, including all his fans and his team. "We did not expect or plan to ride at this speed today, but ended up with such a competitive pace at home!", said Casey.

Though the Repsol team expected the final race to be a three-Honda-on-the-podium, Marco Simoncelli had made it second on the podium. However, team Manager and team alike hope to make a great comeback next year, and fans just can't wait to set their eyes and hearts onto what they love and adore the most- Real MotoGP at it's Best!