Stoner relieved to win again

The Ducati rider had looked set to dominate the second half of the season after taking a streak of victories in early summer, but then errors and pain from a recurring injury hampered him and allowed Valentino Rossi to beat him to the title.

But at Phillip Island today Stoner converted his pole position to a comfortable victory, his fifth of 2008, seven seconds ahead of Rossi.

"This season's been a very difficult one for us, but we've given it everything," Stoner told BBC television.

"We've had a few ups and downs, and it's nice to come back up again. We've been struggling lately, we haven't had 100 per cent fitness. I've been working hard, but things just haven't worked out.

"Today and this weekend, we've been working really hard and we managed to do it."

Nicky Hayden put Stoner under huge pressure early in the race, before the Honda dropped back.

Stoner admitted that he had been concerned by Hayden's rapid initial pace.

"At the beginning of the race I thought there was no way I could pull away from Nicky," said the Australian.

"He looked so good riding behind me, I could hear him there every step of the way.

"Then my bike started feeling a little bit better as the tyres warmed up, so I went a little bit quicker and pulled a small advantage. I don't know if he made a mistake or what, but we just kept building from there and then it was just a matter of bringing it home."