Casey Stoner showed no sign of the illness that has derailed his season when he upstaged Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo to secure a hat-trick of home Australian Grand Prix wins yesterday.
Stoner, who missed three races with fatigue before posting a podium finish at the Portuguese Grand Prix this month, took the tactical battle by 1.935 seconds over champion Rossi in sunny conditions at the 4.45km Phillip Island circuit.
"I was just really happy with the way everything was working, especially my body," the 2007 world champion told reporters.
"Every lap that I kept going past the point where I used to just hit my wall, it made me smile."
Rossi's second place was achieved despite personal tragedy, the Italian hearing of his stepfather's death before qualifying on Saturday, and lifted him closer to retaining the title.
Crossing the line well clear of Dani Pedrosa in third, Rossi stretched his championship lead over nearest challenger Lorenzo to 38 points with two races remaining after the Spaniard crashed out before the first turn.
After a sluggish start out of the grid, pole-sitter Stoner managed to snatch the lead back from Spain's Pedrosa before the end of the first lap and was soon joined by Rossi.
The two quickly opened up a large gap over the rest of the pack and engaged in an epic game of cat-and-mouse, Rossi's Yamaha pressing agonisingly close at the corners, only for Stoner's Ducati to slip away on the straights.
Stoner saw off the Italian champion's challenges, however, and survived a hair-raising wobble late on to post his third win of the season in front of ecstatic home fans.
Having pulled within striking distance of Rossi with his win in Portugal, Lorenzo's championship bid was all but ruined just seconds after the start.
Fourth on the grid, Lorenzo lost control and came off his bike after brushing another rider, the accident also dragging American Nicky Hayden into the paddock.
Rossi was pleased to accept the Spaniard's gift with only races in Malaysia and Valencia to come this season.
"I was very close, I think some two or three laps (I was) faster, but anyway there was no way for the victory but these 20 points are like gold for us," said the Italian, who is chasing a seventh premier class title.
In the 250cc class, Marco Simoncelli was awarded victory with six laps left after a crash left Italian Roberto Locatelli stricken on the race track.
The win put the Gilera rider within 12 points of leader Hiroshi Aoyama of Japan, who was classified seventh.
Spaniard Julian Simon clinched the 125cc race and the championship in dramatic fashion, overtaking British team-mate and nearest challenger Bradley Smith on the final lap.