Teenage rider in back-to-back GP victories
Teenager Casey Stoner, who last month in Estoril became the youngest Australian rider ever to win a 250cc race and the sixth youngest of all time, completed a dominating week when he won the 250cc Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit yesterday.
The 19-year-old from the Gold Coast, riding an Aprilia, held off Italian Andrea Dovizioso on a Honda to win the third leg of the championship and score back-to-back victories.
Japan's Hiroshi Aoyama, also on a Honda, finished third more than 21 seconds behind the leading pair, who were separated on the line by just 0.249 seconds.
World champion Daniel Pedrosa of Spain endured a frustrating day as he finished in sixth place after starting second on the grid, but remains in third place overall in the standings.
Stoner, who began the race in pole position, led from start to finish and was always confident of victory after dominating practice and qualifying for the week.
'Whether it was wet or dry tyres, we would have been on the pace and would have been right up with the leaders,' said the teenager, who races for Carrera Sunglasses - LCR and clocked 48:07.205 for the 21-lap race.
Dovizioso, who finished second behind Stoner in Estoril, has moved to first spot on the championship table, three points ahead of Stoner.
'With the bad weather we have been having, I was advised to stay in touch with Stoner. The rain was getting heavier during the last six, seven laps and there were many visible puddles. I preferred not to take the risk [of trying to overtake Stoner],' the Italian said.
'With about three laps to go, I saw that Stoner had some problems with his visor, but then I remembered I would still get the championship lead if I stayed in second place.'
Meanwhile, China's He Zixian finished just ahead of his Yamaha China Tianjian teammate, Huang Shizhao, in 20th place, with Huang last. The mainland pair still finished ahead of six other riders who were not classified.
