Valentino Rossi gets wheel-to-wheel against his own team-mate - Lorenzo - for the very first time, and to boot, a guy who hadn't even ridden a GP bike when Rossi was already winning on the Honda V5 in MotoGP.
Pedrosa had a bike that flew at most of the tracks, winning six races, while Stoner's Ducati had a front end that stuck like glue, leaving the Aussie to sort out the back end as he always likes it.
At present, "MotoGP" has Lorenzo on all cylinders, Stoner is making them look silly once he bolts into the middle distance, Rossi is finding form at places he knows and likes, while the works Hondas are rocketships but are missing their fastest rider.
Pole, won the race and fastest lap: thank you very much, now where's the night club?
Will Pedrosa return for Estoril in 10 days time? Of course he will on current form.
Stoner had won the pole position for the race on Friday and showed his dominance over the track like never before.
Stoner finished the race with the lead of eight and a half seconds over Lorenzo. It was a good race for the Italian as well, as he was able to show his brilliance over the racing track by overtaking the American rider Nicky Hayden in the final lap of the race.
Stoner is now eyeing to equalize Valentino Rossi’s five straight wins at the Phillip Island.
Pedrosa also had missed the last two races.
Proving that the power of hometown heroics should never be underestimated, Casey Stoner not only put on a great show for his fellow countrymen but once again proved to be dominant at the Australian GP. Lorenzo rode rode well in MotoGP Australia, claiming a lonely second place position almost ten seconds ahead of his teammate Valentino Rossi, who closed out the podium in style. Ben Spies rounded out the top five, marking the eighth time this season the young American has finished fifth or better, which secured him the Rookie of the Year title for 2010.