Stoner eyeing home victory
Casey Stoner says he is determined to bounce back from his Japanese Grand Prix disappointment and take his fifth straight victory on home soil at Phillip Island
Having started on pole and led at Motegi, Stoner dropped down to seventh after running through the gravel at Turn 7 on the fourth lap. He was able to fight back to finish third, but his lead over Jorge Lorenzo was cut, potentially costing him the chance to wrap up the title at his home race.
Stoner can still win the title in Australia if he takes ten points or more than Lorenzo, but the Australian says his focus is simply on winning the race at Phillip Island - a circuit he has not been beaten on since 2006.
"I'm very disappointed after Japan as we knew our potential," Stoner said. "I want to go [to Australia] and win the race, like I wanted to in Japan.
"The season has been fantastic so far and we'll be looking to continue this momentum. Every year I look forward to going to Phillip Island, and if we can top it off with a win in my home grand prix it would be a dream.
"It will be a long hard weekend, and there is still a lot of work to do to win the championship, but we're ready for it."
Honda also enters Australia chasing the 2011 constructors' crown, while its other works riders - Tech 3-bound Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa - are separated by just one point in the fight for third in the points standings.
Dovizioso said that he was fully focussed on securing third in the championship in his final three races for Honda before moving to Yamaha in 2012.
"Since my debut in the GPs in 2002 I have raced with Honda my whole career," he explained. "For next year I have decided to take another challenge, but this is 2012 and I'm focused on these last three remaining GPs.
"I want to have some spectacular races and score good results for Honda, and my target this time is to return on the podium and gain some points in order to retain the third position in the championship."
Pedrosa, who trails by just one point following his victory at Motegi, said he was simply looking for a good result after having to abandon last year's race due to an earlier collarbone injury.
"Last year I tried to return to racing in Australia after my collarbone operation and I realised during practice that it would be impossible for me to finish the race," Pedrosa said.
"It was very hard for me to accept that I was not ready to race as a result of the injury and I had to return home empty handed after a big effort. This year I would like to race in normal conditions and leave Australia with a good result."
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