Born in Southport, Queensland, Stoner raced from a young age and moved to the United Kingdom to pursue a racing career. After first competing internationally in 2002, Stoner became MotoGP World Champion in 2007 for Ducati. One of Stoner's greatest talents was his ability to ride any motorcycle beyond its perceived limits, even producing race wins on the inferior Ducati chassis after both Honda and Yamaha had forged ahead in development during his later racing years. Stoner won the MotoGP World Championship riding for Ducati and the win in 2007 remains as Ducati's only championship. During 2008 and 2009 Stoner remained a strong contender, winning multiple races, but not being able to consistently challenge Valentino Rossi and Yamaha for the title during those seasons. In mid-season of 2009, he even missed a few races due to chronic fatigue due to anaemia, having started the season strongly. In 2010, Ducati failed to cope with Yamaha and Honda until very late in the season, when Stoner went out on a winning note winning three races.