Bridgestone motorsport wrap for 3rd September 2007

Stoner closes in on MotoGP title

Australia's Casey Stoner is closing in on the MotoGP title after another faultless display at the San Marino round of the championship at the weekend.

Bridgestone-shod riders filled the top five places with Stoner taking his eighth win of the season on his Ducati ahead of fellow Australian Chris Vermeulen.

Vermeulen's Suzuki teammate John Hopkins took the final place on the podium.

Stoner now has an 85-point lead over Italy's Valentino Rossi who retired after his Yamaha's new engine suffered mechanical failure on the fifth lap.

"I got a good start and was away at the front but I had a lot of pressure from John and Chris for a lot of the race. It was just like the last few races actually and I had to make sure that I was not making any mistakes because I knew if I did then they would have been straight on me," Stoner said.

"I am reasonably happy with the lap times that we were setting and we were able to pull out a small advantage. Everything worked really well again this afternoon, the Ducati and the Bridgestone tyres, and we were able to keep our advantage to take the win."

The result makes it possible for the 21-year-old to clinch the championship at the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril on September 6 with four races to spare.

And in other results...