Stoner cut after Catalunya win

Casey Stoner is now the 4/9 favourite with bet365 to win the Moto GP World Championship 2011 after closing the gap at the top of the standings with victory in the Catalunya Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Australian had got the better of pole-sitter Marco Simoncelli at the start but still found himself in second place after a flying getaway from championship leader Jorge Lorenzo (5/2 with bet365 to be there at the end of the season).

However, the Spaniard’s advantage was a brief one and Stoner, who had been dominant in practice, eased to a convincing win after taking control going into turn one on the second lap.

“We made a good start, we tried to get past as soon as we could,” Stoner told the BBC.

“We managed to pull an advantage and the bike started to work really well.

“Jorge got off to a good start and I had to wait until the end of the first lap to overtake him and then he couldn’t stay with me, fortunately.”

Stoner’s victory was his third in the last five races and he has now closed to within seven points of Lorenzo, who had to settle for the runners-up spot in front of his home fans.

American Ben Spies took his first podium finish of the year with third place, while Andrea Dovizioso came home fourth ahead of Valentino Rossi and Simoncelli.

Rossi ready for surprise return

World champion Valentino Rossi (25/1 with Bet365 to win 2010 MotoGP World Championship) has been cleared to ride in Sunday’s German Grand Prix, less than two months after breaking his leg.

The Italian rider visited the Sachsenring’s chief medical officer on Thursday and received the all-clear.

Rossi, a seven-time world champion, suffered a compound fracture of his right leg in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix on June 5.

He was operated on for two hours, and told he would be out of action for three to four months.

However, he was tested twice in the last two weeks and cleared by his doctors after having an X-ray on Wednesday.

He has missed four races and dropped to seventh in the standings led by Spanish team mate Jorge Lorenzo.

A Fiat Yamaha statement said: “Valentino Rossi has been officially cleared to ride at this weekend’s German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, six weeks after his accident in Italy.

“The Fiat Yamaha rider was examined by the chief medical officer for this event, Dr. Huber Fischer, who found him fit enough to compete this weekend.”

Rossi has won nine Grand Prix World Championships, having first triumphed in the 125cc class in 1997, a year after starting racing.

He won the 250cc title in 1999, then switched to the 500cc event where he won his first World Championship with Honda in 2001, before staying with the Honda team and triumphing in two successive MotoGP World Championships in 2002 and 2003.

The Italian switched to Yamaha and continued his run of immaculate results, winning two more consecutive titles in 2004-05. He regained his title in 2008 and defended it last year.

Rossi is first in all time 500cc/MotoGP race win standings, with 78 victories, and second in all time overall standings with 104 race wins behind Giacomo Agostini.