Casey Stoner completed a dream sixth successive victory in his final home Australian
MotoGP appearance at Phillip Island.
The Australian won by 9.223sec in a race that saw
Jorge Lorenzo wrap up the 2012 World Championship after rival
Dani Pedrosa crashed out of the lead on the second lap.
Comfortably fastest in every track session prior to the race, despite a spill in qualifying, Stoner continued in a class of his own during the race.
Third behind Lorenzo and team-mate Pedrosa on the opening lap, Stoner powered past Lorenzo's Yamaha out of the final turn, then took the lead when Pedrosa slid-off at the hairpin on lap two.
The victory was Stoner's first since his mid-August
Indianapolis ankle injuries - and fifth of the year - and carried the Australian flag proudly on the slow down lap.
Turn three at Phillip island was named 'Stoner Corner' in his honour on Thursday.
Lorenzo and Pedrosa had long conceded that Stoner would be unbeatable in normal conditions and were instead focussed on the title fight.
Holding a 23-point lead, Lorenzo would be champion if he could score three points more than Pedrosa. Lorenzo had seen Pedrosa's early slip - after which the #26 pulled into the pits and retired - and settled into a safe second thereafter.
Tech 3 Yamaha's Cal Crutchlow was promoted to third by Pedrosa's exit. The Englishman was never threatened as he secured his second
MotoGP rostrum.
The best weather of the weekend was present for the race, with clear blue skies and 15 degree air temperatures. Honda LCR's Stefan Bradl was the only rider to pick anything but a soft-soft tyre choice - opting for the harder rear.
That looked to be paying off as he muscled his way past Alvaro Bautista and
Andrea Dovizioso as the halfway mark approached, but the German rookie couldn't break away.