Casey Stoner wins Australian Grand Prix - Australia's Casey Stoner beat newly crowned world champion Jorge Lorenzo of Spain...

Casey Stoner of Australia (centre) lifts the winner's trophy, flanked by second-placed Jorge Lorenzo of Spain and third-placed Valentino Rossi of Italy on the podium after the MotoGP Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island, south of Melbourne, Australia, Sunday. -AP

Casey Stoner wins Australian Grand Prix

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Australia's Casey Stoner beat newly crowned world champion Jorge Lorenzo of Spain by almost nine seconds Sunday to claim his fourth straight Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

Stoner, who turned 25 on Saturday, started from pole position after dominating qualifying and rode his Ducati to an emphatic win over Yamaha's Lorenzo, while Italy's seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi, also on a Yamaha, finished third.

Stoner reached the first corner of the Phillip Island circuit in the lead and had opened a 1.5-second edge over Lorenzo by the end of the first lap.

He steadily stretched his advantage and by the race's halfway point held a 3.5-kilometer (2.2-mile) lead over the Yamaha rider who started from second on the grid.

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Rossi, who started eighth, briefly slipped back a place but recovered to sixth by lap six. He then overtook Americans Nicky Hayden and Ben Spies to sit in third place by lap eight.

Hayden reclaimed third place on the second to last lap, but Rossi fought back to gain a place on the podium with a desperate late surge. Hayden finished fourth on a Ducati, 18.035 seconds behind Stoner, while Spies, Lorenzo's Yamaha teammate, was fifth.

Stoner made a slow start to the 2010 season but has now won three of the past four races, missing a clean sweep when he crashed at Malaysia last week.

He can still finish second behind Lorenzo on the world standings with two races to go. With his 25 points from Sunday's win, he lies 22 points behind Honda's Dani Pedrosa who has missed the last three races with injury.

Pedrosa took part in qualifying in Australia, but pulled out of Sunday's race because of continued problems with his recovery from a broken collarbone. Suzuki's Loris Capirossi also withdrew because of injuries suffered in a high speed crash in Saturday's qualifying.

The MotoGP season concludes with races in Portugal in two weeks and in Valencia, Spain.

Stoner was having what may be his last ride on a Ducati in his home country before joining Honda for the 2011 season.

Spain's Marc Marquez stretched his championship lead when he won his ninth race of the season in the 125cc class, beating compatriots compatriot Pol Espargaro with Nicolas Terol.

San Marino rider Alex DeAngelis won the Moto2 Grand Prix, beating Briton Scott Redding and Italian Andrea Iannone, but Toni Elias of Spain had already sealed the world title.