Stoner stretches championship lead

MISANO, Italy -- Australian rider Casey Stoner took another stride towards his first world championship title by outclassing the field to claim his third consecutive MotoGP victory in San Marino on Sunday.

The Ducati rider started from pole position and as early as the first lap left most of his rivals in his wake before coming over the finish line nearly five seconds ahead of fellow- Australian Chris Vermeulen, on a Suzuki.

American John Hopkins, also on a Suzuki, finished third in what was the 13th leg of the 18-race series.

Stoner's third win in a row, following victories in the U.S. and Czech Republic, and eighth of the season means he has now stretched his lead to a massive 85 points over Italian rival Valentino Rossi, in second place.

"I didn't expect to be so competitive, but we had the hardest compound tires so we were able to pull away at the front," Stoner said.

Rossi, whose championship winning ambitions are disappearing with every race, had another day to forget, the seven-time world champion pulling out having dropped a lap behind the frontrunners when he slid off the circuit on the fifth lap.

Spaniard Dani Pedrosa of Honda, who sits third overall in the championship, picked up zero points having been forced to abandon due to an early tangle with the Kawasaki of Frenchman Randy De Puniet.

In the 250cc category Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, on an Aprilia, stretched his championship lead by winning ahead of Japan's Hiroshi Aoyama and Spaniard Hector Barbera.

With five races to go in the 17-round 250cc championship Lorenzo, on 241 points, leads San Marino's Alex De Angelis by 54 points with Italian Andrea Dovizioso a point further back.

Italian Mattia Pasini meanwhile won the 12th round of the 125cc category world championship ahead of Hungary's Gabor Talmacsi, with Japan's Tomoyoshi Koyama in third.

Talmacsi is now the championship leader with a 10-point advantage on Hector Faubel. E-mail to a friend