Australian MotoGP: Valentino Rossi chasing second straight Phillip Island crown

ITALIAN motorcycling great Valentino Rossi makes his 20th visit to Australia this weekend, hoping for back-to-back Phillip Island victories.

Moto GP. Phillip Island. Valentino Rossi celebrates after winning the GP. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

ITALIAN motorcycling great Valentino Rossi makes his 20th visit to Australia this weekend, hoping for back-to-back Phillip Island victories and another step to an eighth world title.

The 36-year-old crowd favourite leads this season’s MotoGP standings, 18 points ahead of Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo — the only two men who have claimed the world crown with three races to go.

Rossi first raced in Australia as a 16-year-old on a 125cc Aprilia at Eastern Creek in October 1996. He finished 14th in a race won by Australian Garry McCoy.

After that Rossi has taken the chequered flag eight times Down Under including twice in the 250cc class and a stunning run of five wins between 2001 and 2005.

Phillip Island has always been a successful circuit for Rossi. It was there in 2001 that Rossi secured his first premier-class championship, and the final 500cc crown before the advent of MotoGP.

Valentino Rossi flies round a Phillip Island bend. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Last year Rossi won in stunning fashion at the island, ahead of Lorenzo, while champion Marc Marquez crashed his Repsol Honda while leading the race.

The Movistar Yamaha team has laid low since arriving earlier this week but Rossi has said the island track was one of his favourites, even if temperature and winds threw challenges to the rider.

Changing conditions, especially winds off the Southern Ocean, often affect riders on the scenic, coastal 4.4km circuit.

The two factory teams of Yamaha and Honda are expected to dominate the race although the unpredictability of the conditions can throw up another surprise podium result. Only last year Brit Bradley Smith jumped into third place on the Tech 3 Yamaha.

Australia now has three entrants in the MotoGP event after Damian Cudlin was yesterday granted a wildcard entry to replace the injured Alex De Angelis who was badly injured in a crash in practice at the Japanese GP at Motegi last weekend. He is still in intensive care in hospital with head, lung and spinal injuries.

Cudlin joins Jack Miller on the LCR Honda and Anthony West who replaces the injured Karel Abraham on the AB Motoracing Honda on the grid.

Gates open at 8am today (FRI). Free practice starts this morning (FRI), with two sessions of qualifying tomorrow (SAT) afternoon.

The forecast for race-day Sunday is partly cloudy with a top of 17C.

Originally published as Australian MotoGP: Valentino Rossi chasing second straight Phillip Island crown