Aussie Casey Stoner was proud to win for Repsol Honda on debut this morning in Qatar.

Australia’s Casey Stoner says his victory in Sunday’s Grand Prix of Qatar at the Losail Circuit is a proud moment in his career, winning on debut for Repsol Honda.

The win marked Honda’s first of the season in eight years, also equaling Stoner’s 24th victory of his career since stepping up to the premier class in 2006.

“Tonight the bike was fantastic, as it has been for all the sessions and I’m very proud to be racing for Repsol Honda and to take my first victory in the first race,” 2007 world champion Stoner beamed.

“It is a great way to start the season! I’m really happy with how everything has gone and the way the team has all worked together, a big thanks to Honda and my best wishes to Japan in this difficult time.”

Stoner got the better of teammate Dani Pedrosa after a thrilling early-race tussle, eventually winning ahead of defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo by 3.440 seconds after 22 laps.

“After a great pre-season, we came into this race weekend and everything kept getting better and better for us,” a delighted Stoner explained.

“This morning in warm up we had a few issues getting a good feeling with the bike carrying a full tank of fuel and this issue also affected us in the early part of the race, but we knew as the fuel level decreased and the tyres aged, that our bike would come back to us.

“Dani came past and we decided to follow to see where he was strong and where I was weak. Then when I started to feel more confident with the bike and had more grip and better turning, we decided to push forwards and take advantage.”

The race weekend marked a dream beginning of the season for Stoner, who entered the year as pre-season title favourite despite switching to an all-new team, and he was quickest across the entire weekend in all sessions apart from the morning warm-up.