Phillip Island is one of the world's truly great circuits. Sat just off the coast of Melbourne, Southern Australia, it has the perfect combination of fast and technical sections, demanding elevation changes and magnifecent scenery. Yes, the weather sometimes gets a bit unpredictable but overall it's a true racer's circuit and one that just about guarantees some proper racing action. There's room to overtake in several places, and a brave rider can make room in several more as well. Despite the fact that Valentino Rossi has already lifted the title, there was no reason at all why everyone shouldn't still be pushing hard. The World Champion isn't one for resting on his laurels, for a start, while Stoner and Pedrosa have a real fight on their hands to decide the runner up slot. Further down, Jorge Lorenzo could potentially beat Pedrosa, though it would need a calamity to befall last year's runner-up before that was likely. But further back, going into the race there was just three points between Colin Edwards in sixth and Nicky Hayden in eighth, with a similarly close battle between ninth and eleventh. So all to fight for, then, and plenty to prove.

Though it was Casey Stoner who put himself at the top of the timesheets for the first practice session, it was his team-mate for next year, Nicky Hayden, who really shone. And yes, Hayden certainly has something to prove. As does Colin Edwards, who also did particularly well, coming out of the final session ahead of Rossi himself. Practice was made more complicated by the changeable weather, which saw at least one session in the torrential rain as well as another in bright sunshine. But of course, while practice is good for the ego and, sometimes, for the inevitable headgames that go on, it's qualifying that matters. And in a pretty nail-biting session, Rossi looked on for another pole before running wide on turn two, hitting the wet grass and flinging the Yamaha into the gravel trap. Though he got back on his spare bike, time was against him and the 2008 World Champion found himself starting from a lowly twelfth. Further up, James Toseland rode a storming session, having at last found a bike setup that worked on a circuit he knows. Fifth place is good, but being just a third of a second from pole is both excellent and disappointing. Just ahead of Toseland, Randy de Puniet had a good session while Hayden was just pipped to second place by Jorge Lorenzo. Stoner, of course, took pole on his local track.

Race day was pleasantly warm and dry, with a gentle breeze. Everyone lined up fine after an uneventful warmup session and sighting lap, and when the lights went out it was a lightning start from Stoner that saw him capitalise on his pole position and go straight into the lead. Nicky Hayden, too, made a strong start as did Dani Pedrosa, making up the first three, while James Toseland immediately started his campaign for a podium on this, his twenty eighth birthday, pushing hard in fourth. So hard, in fact, that Dani Pedrosa overreacted, running deep into turn three and touching the grass. From there, of course, it was all over and the Spaniard crashed hard though seeming unhurt. Just a few turns later it was Alex de Angelis' turn to crash out, missing Rossi by millimetres at the same time and forcing both Vermeulen and Guintoli to take avoiding action and leave the track. Both these two managed to rejoin, as did Anrea Dovizioso who ran off the track early, rejoining dead last.

Up at the front, the leading pair were rapidly clearing off while Toseland was having the ride of his life. A brief tussle with Jorge Lorenzo saw him relinquish third for a couple of laps before blasting back past again and extending a bit of a gap. While this was going on, a couple of particularly impressive rides were taking place. First of all, Andrea Dovizioso was charging through the field, climbing back up to tenth by the end of the first lap. And Valentino Rossi, after his lowly start and dramatic first lap still managed to be up to eighth by the time they crossed the line for the first time. Carrying on, Dovizioso quickly reached seventh before plateauing for a while as Nakano, Lorenzo, Rossi and Toseland all scrapped in front of him.

Lap four saw Rossi close up to Toseland after slicing past both Nakano and fifth runner Colin Edwards on the main straight. The young Englishman reacted by cutting back in front of Lorenzo and making that gap. It really did look as though he was going to get a special result. We were then treated to twenty laps of absolute flat out racing as Toseland used every ounce of his considerable talent, as well as his circuit knowledge and very well set up bike to stay in front of the new World Champion. On the couple of occasions that Rossi got past him, Toseland retook that place quickly - the first time after following for a lap, the second on the very next corner. Behind, Lorenzo and Nakano were joined by Dovizioso to make a five bike fight for third place. Rossi finally managed to pass Toseland on lap thirteen, making it stick and setting off after Hayden, but the battle for fourth continued unabated unti the last couple of corners.Two laps from the end, Toseland's tyres had started to go off and his running wide allowed both Dovizioso and Lorenzo to get past him. A spirited defence of his position saw places swap around again and in the melee Nakano was able to slip through on the penultimate bend. Lorenzo managed to take fourth while Nakano held a worthy fifth and Toseland took his sixth sixth place of the season from a rather irritated (unfairly so, I feel, as Toseland was neither over-aggressive nor out of control) Dovizioso. Colin Edwards rallied after a difficult time and managed to come back past Randy de Puniet to take eighth while Loris Capirossi rounded out the top ten.

Up at the front, Stoner was over seven seconds clear and made sure that he didn't repeat his mistakes of earlier in the season, riding steadily to take his second home win on the trot. Nicky Hayden rode the wheels off the honda but to no avail as Rossi inexorably closed him down and slipped past him with two laps to go.

Rossi has now been on the podium every time he has appeared at Phillip Island since 1998, which is quite an achievement.

We're in Malaysia in a couple of weeks time for the penultimate round. Stoner is secure in second place after Pedrosa's DNF, and Pedrosa is secure in third from Dovizioso, though either could still mathematically be toppled if they had some seriously bad luck and the following rider had some particularly good form. James Toseland is just one point outside the top ten after today's effort, and must be looking to repass Capirossi and regain the leaderboard...

SB

Phillip Island MotoGP Results

1. Casey Stoner (Ducati)
2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)
3. Nicky Hayden (Honda)
4. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha)
5. Shinya Nakano (Honda)
6. James Toseland (Yamaha)
7. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda)
8. Colin Edwards (Yamaha)
9. Randy De Puniet (Honda)
10. Loris Capirossi (Suzuki)

MotoGP standings (after sixteen rounds)

1. Valentino Rossi 332 (2008 MotoGP World Champion)
2. Casey Stoner 245
3. Dani Pedrosa 209
4. Jorge Lorenzo 182
5. Andrea Dovizioso 145
6. Nicky Hayden 131
7. Colin Edwards 126
8. Chris Vermeulen 118
9. Shinya Nakano 106
10. Loris Capirossi 102