The Ducati MotoGP Team enjoyed its greatest day in Japan today, Casey Stoner securing Ducati's first MotoGP World Championship and Loris Capirossi winning the race, run in tricky conditions on a drying track. The result triggered scenes of unbridled joy in the Ducati MotoGP Team pit, in the more than one thousand fans who watched the race in the Borgo Panigale Factory with the CEO Gabriele Del Torchio among them and in all the Ducatistis around the world.

Australian genius Stoner had to finish today's race ahead of Valentino Rossi to wrap up the title with three GPs remaining, and he did that, no problem, finishing sixth after leading the early stages. The race couldn't have been more nerve-wracking: it started on a slightly damp track, most riders choosing rain tyres, then the circuit dried out enough for riders to swap to slick-equipped bikes. Capirossi was one of the first riders to switch, at the end of lap nine, and his strategy paid rich dividends, the 2005 and 2006 Japanese GP winner going on to score a Motegi hat-trick, 10.853 seconds ahead of his closest rival. Stoner swapped bikes at the end of lap 14 and maintained his renowned cool to become the second youngest premier-class World Champion, after American legend Freddie Spencer. So far this year Stoner has won eight races, taken three further podium finished and scored five pole positions.

Loris Caprirossi - 1st - Ducati Marlboro
We struggled a lot this weekend and only yesterday did we find a better set-up solution. When I woke this morning and saw the rain I said 'wow, for sure this is going to be a difficult day'. We didn't know which would be the best tyres to use, so we started with medium rain tyres. At first it was really difficult, so I decided to pit early, and for sure my tactic was the best because I won my third consecutive race here, it's a great moment for me. It's also a great day for Casey, for Ducati and for the team. I congratulate Casey, he's a really strong rider, I'm very happy for him.

Randy de Puniet - 2nd - Kawasaki Racing
I'm very happy because that was a really hard race. I chose to use a hard rain tyre but after a few laps it felt too hard and twice I ended up in the gravel, losing me a lot of time. I changed to the bike with the slicks and, when I exited the pits, I thought my race was over but I continued to push. When I saw on my pit board I was in second I was really surprised but to be on the podium in Japan for Kawasaki and Bridgestone is perfect. And I'm really grateful to my crew because they've worked so hard to help me get here.

Toni Elias - 3rd - Gresini Honda
I'm really happy to be back on the podium. This is an incredible result after the accident at Assen. It's been a tough couple of months for me and this was a nice reward. I got a good start but I lost a few positions and found myself some way back. I didn't have anything to lose so I came in early to change bikes. It proved to be the perfect time and the perfect strategy. In general it has been a perfect day, following on from a difficult weekend and a particularly tough race.

Sylvian Guintoli - 4th - Tech 3 Yamaha
This has got to be one of the best days of my life! To finish fourth in a MotoGP is something I could only dream about at the beginning of the year but I will always think how close I was to a podium. I tried very hard on the last lap to pass Toni but I didn't want to try too hard and end up in the gravel. I got a good start and decided to come in early to try and make a move on the leaders and it worked. To be fastest on the track for so many laps was very satisfying and I missed out on fastest lap of the race by so little in the battle with Toni. Also I was able to pass Valentino so I have done that twice this year. I'd like to thank the team and Dunlop so much as I will always remember this weekend.

Marco Melandri - 5th - Gresini Honda
I was having a good race in the wet, my feeling with the bike was really good and I was able to take over from Stoner and build a bit of a lead. When the track started to dry it was really difficult for me because I was leading the race and it was hard to judge the right moment to come and change the bike because there were still some wet patches. When they told me from pit wall to come in I did so but it was a few laps too late to come in. It took me a couple of laps to get used to the bike with the dry setting and I made a mistake that cost me a few places. I'm disappointed because I could have fought for the win today. Unfortunately the flag to flag rule puts the race leaders at a disadvantage. The positive thing is that I've closed the gap to fifth and fourth in the championship, with Vermeulen now four points ahead of me and Hopkins eight.

Valentino Rossi - 11th - Fiat Yamaha
It's a great pity for us how everything has turned out this weekend, because in the dry we were faster than Stoner and we could have had a good chance. The first problem today was the weather this morning, but actually we were able to find a good setting for the bike and when the race started we were quite hopeful. I got a bad start but on the drying track I had the fastest pace and I was able to make up five seconds to the leaders. After I passed Melandri I came into the box to change and maybe this was one lap too late, but our strategy was more or less okay because I was able to come back into the race with only Loris in front of me. We had an intermediate front tyre, a slick cut which is normal in these situations, but the bike was almost impossible for me to ride and turn and it felt like there was something seriously wrong. I came back in but my mechanics could see there was nothing wrong so I went straight out again, and by then it was too late; the race was over for me and the championship was gone. After four or five laps the tyre began to work better and I was able to keep going to the end, but without this problem it would have been possible for me to be on the podium or even to fight for the win with Loris. The conditions were very unfortunate. However this is racing and now we have three more races and we will do our best to find a way to win and end the season on a high note. I'm really sorry for my fans and for everyone in the team. Congratulations to Loris but especially to Casey on becoming world champion. I am very flattered that he made a dedication to me on his victory t-shirt, if someone else has to win then I am glad it's one of my fans! He is a great rival and I hope that we can continue this rivalry into the future.

Race Results:

 1.  Loris Capirossi   Ducati    (B)   47:05.483
 2.  Randy de Puniet   Kawasaki  (B)   +  10.853
 3.  Toni Elias        Honda     (B)   +  11.526
 4.  Sylvain Guintoli  Yamaha    (D)   +  12.192
 5.  Marco Melandri    Honda     (B)   +  28.569
 6.  Casey Stoner      Ducati    (B)   +  31.179
 7.  Anthony West      Kawasaki  (B)   +  50.001
 8.  Alex Barros       Ducati    (B)   +  52.343
 9.  Nicky Hayden      Honda     (M)   +  53.629
10.  John Hopkins      Suzuki    (B)   +  59.715
11.  Chris Vermeulen   Suzuki    (B)   +1:02.804
12.  Makoto Tamada     Yamaha    (D)   +1:09.313
13.  Valentino Rossi   Yamaha    (M)   +1:09.699
14.  Colin Edwards     Yamaha    (M)   +1:11.735
15.  Shinichi Ito      Ducati    (B)   +1:12.290
16.  Shinya Nakano     Honda     (M)   +1:32.979
17.  Akira Yanagawa    Kawasaki  (B)   +   1 lap
18.  Carlos Checa      Honda     (M)   +   1 lap

DNF:

     Kousuke Akiyoshi  Suzuki    (B)  20
     Daniel Pedrosa    Honda     (M)  14
     Kurtis Roberts    KR        (M)  1