British Grand Prix: Casey Stoner shivers to commanding win

Casey Stoner conquered driving rain and ice cold summer temperatures to romp to a commanding British Grand Prix victory at Silverstone yesterday.

The Australian became the first Honda rider to win three successive premier class races since Valentino Rossi in 2003 with a dominant victory that saw him seize the lead in the 2011 MotoGP world championship.

Stoner’s imperious wet weather riding in appalling conditions and Jorge Lorenzo’s costly crash while the Spaniard was third moved the Repsol Honda rider 18-points clear at the top of the standings with a third of the season completed.

Stoner won by a margin of over 15 seconds with Italian team-mate Andrea Dovizioso in a distant and lonely second place and he said: “It was hard to run at the front but I think if I’d been behind somebody it would have been more difficult. I found that on the first lap because there was a lot of spray off Jorge and Andrea and I actually ended up getting some water on the inside of my visor. Once I did get to the front I thought my vision would clear but it didn’t get better.”

“I started to panic a little bit because I couldn’t see anything or where the deeper puddles were. I could see where I needed to go on the track and I could just see my braking points, but everything else was really difficult. I didn’t really know how long it was going to take to clear so I stayed nice and steady and made sure I didn’t make any mistakes. Once my visor started to clear I felt a lot more comfortable and I could pull an advantage.

“Once I got a lead I just tried to manage it because it was so cold and my body wasn’t really working properly I just tried to stay constant and concentrated because it was so easy to make a mistake. It was a very tough race and the cold for me was the worst part. The rain continued to come down during the race and some of the puddles got deeper and I was aquaplaning more.

“If you tried to slow down and relax the more the tyre temperature dropped, so you had to keep the pace reasonably high to get any feeling from the track. I’m happy with the way the race went and I’m happy to come out with the championship lead because that is awesome.”

Stoner played down the significance of his third straight win for Honda, with the Japanese factory easily enjoying its best run since Rossi dominated in the 990cc four-stroke era.

Sunday’s success was the 27th of his career and he added: “I think winning three races in a row for myself is important. Honda has been capable of a lot in the past few seasons and maybe a bit of bad luck has come their way and made things difficult. But I feel very happy with the way the bike is working. These three races have been fantastic. I’d have preferred a dry race and the rain made me a bit more nervous, but to come away with three wins in a row is perfect.”

Had it not been for Rossi’s error in the rain-hit Spanish Grand Prix earlier in the season, Stoner’s advantage could have been even greater.

Stoner was taken out by the factory Ducati rider while fighting for a podium finish and he said: “We have to look that it could have been a very big lead now if we hadn’t missed out on a definite podium in Jerez. To be already back at the top of the championship so early while missing a race is fantastic.”

See Wednesday’s MCN for an eight-page round-up of the British Grand Prix.