Australian MotoGP racer Casey Stoner simply outclassed his rivals to take a convincing victory at the Instanbul round on Sunday.

Stoner took the lead on the first lap after Valentino Rossi made a mistake and went wide on turn 13. Rossi was lucky to come out the other side with only a few places lost - but Casey simply blew away the field and won by a comfortable six seconds from second-placed Toni Elias.

Victory takes the Ducati rider 10 points clear at the top of the championship, 61 ahead of Rossi, who is  on 51 points. It is very early on in the season, but Stoner looks to be the man Rossi has to beat. Consistency will be the key for the young Aussie, but so far he is displaying a level of maturity that has been lacking in previous seasons.

Rossi seemed to be spooked on the track and his early excursion on the grass would not have helped, as well as the tussle with Elias and the shoulder-rubbing that entailed . 'The Doctor' seemed to be on a house call rather than concentrating on the race. Some commentators have suggested tyre problems. The bike, however, looked stable in the turns and was keeping pace with its rivals on the straights. Close-up footage of the rear tyre was inconclusive. It will be interesting to hear what Jeremy Burgess, Rossi's head engineer for Fiat Yamaha, has to say over the next few days.

The race was also unlucky for Dani Pedrosa, who crashed out early along with Colin Edwards and Aussie Chris Vermeulen, when Kawasaki rider Olivier Jacque tried too hard to overtake in what could only be described as a desperate move. Luckily for Vermeulen, on the Rizla Suzuki, his bike rested on Pedrosa's Honda and had no damage after the race.

The hard-charging Australian jumped straight back on the bike and came home in 11th position. It was a case of 'if only' for Vermeulen, with his lap time consistent with the front runners. He even recorded the fastest lap for the race. If it wasn't for Jacques' indiscretion, he most certainly would have been fighting for a podium spot.