DUCATI rider Casey Stoner extended his lead of the MotoGP world championship to 26 points after a storming victory at Donington Park's British GP.
His compatriot, Chris Vermeulen, added another Australian to the podium, excelling in the damp-drying track conditions to take his Suzuki to an outstanding third place.
Persistent rain during Sunday morning rendered Saturday's dry practice programme obsolete, as riders were forced to switch to wet tyres for the 30-lap race.
Colin Edwards defied the conditions, to finish second, taking his second podium of the season after a fighting ride from pole position. His team-mate Valentino Rossi was disappointed to finish fourth but nonetheless managed to set another record in the process, overtaking Mick Doohan to take the title of most prolific points-scorer ever in the premier class, with a total of 2,303 points.
Meanwhile Suzuki's John Hopkins, Kawasaki's Randy de Puniet and Pramac d'Antin's Alex Barros proved their strength claiming fifth, sixth and seventh positions respectively, while Alex Hofmann produced a strong ride to finish in ninth position.
Stoner's scintillating British win takes his victory tally to five in eight, which equals the most wins by a single rider on Bridgestone tyres - a feat also obtained by his team-mate Loris Capirossi. It was the sixth win on Bridgestone tyres this season and the first at Donington Park since Masao Azuma, now Bridgestone's field engineer for the Suzuki team, won in the 125cc class back in 1999.
MotoGP: Donington Results 1. Casey Stoner (AUS) 51'40.739
2. Colin Edwards (USA) + 11.768
3. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) + 15.678
4. Valentino Rossi (ITA) + 21.827
5. John Hopkins (USA) + 35.518
6. Randy de Puniet (FRA) + 36.474
7. Alex Barros (BRA) + 38.094
8. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) + 38.992
9. Alex Hofmann (GER) + 39.239
10. Marco Melandri (ITA) + 1'01.526
11. Anthony West (AUS) + 1'06.486
12. Toni Elias (SPA) + 1'34.074
MotoGP: Championship Standings 1. Casey Stoner (AUS) 165
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 139
3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) 106
4. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) 88
5. John Hopkins (USA) 83
6. Marco Melandri (ITA) 81
7. Colin Edwards (USA) 65
8. Alex Barros (BRA) 60
9. Loris Capirossi (ITA) 57
10. Toni Elias (SPA) 49
11. Alex Hofmann (GER) 45
12. Nicky Hayden (USA) 41
13. Randy de Puniet (FRA) 40
14. Shinya Nakano (JPN) 21
15. Carlos Checa (SPA) 20
16. Makoto Tamada (JPN) 17
17. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) 16
18. Anthony West (AUS) 5
19. Fonsi Nieto (SPA) 5
20. Olivier Jacque (FRA) 4
21. Kenny Roberts Jr (USA) 4
22. Kurtis Roberts (USA) 3
