Stoner won his first world title in Japan last month

The 21-year-old started third on the grid but surged into the lead to take his ninth victory of the season.

The Australian finished ahead of his Ducati team-mate Loris Capirossi with Yamaha's Valentino Rossi in third.

Stoner, who won his first world title in Japan, became the first home winner in Australia since Mick Doohan in 1998.

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"To get the championship before this round I think was perfect for me," said Stoner. "I could really enjoy this race.

"The race worked out perfectly for us. We got a great start and I led it from start to finish - the bike was working beautifully so it was just a matter of bringing it home.

"Nicky (Hayden) was really good - I wasn't able to pull away from him and I was trying reasonably hard, then he started to drop off and it increased my freedom a little bit more to increase the gap, and we just held them off from there."

Rossi said he had felt capable of catching Stoner until tyre problems forced him to ease off.

"I pushed very hard and after 10 laps I thought it was possible to stay close until we lost a lot of grip," he said.