Motorsport: Stoner to top Doohan record

American bike legend Kevin Schwantz says Casey Stoner will topple Mick Doohan as the Australian with the most MotoGP wins.

Schwantz, the 1993 500cc world champion, maintains that Stoner's raw speed and talent will see him eclipse five-times world champion Doohan's record of 54 grand prix wins.

Stoner has 31 wins going into Sunday's Australian GP at Phillip Island with the race being held on his 26th birthday.

He is within 10 points of securing a second MotoGP world title with three races remaining.

"I won my first GP in 1988 and I was 24 but Casey's got 31 wins at 25 years old, he went past me a long time ago," said Schwantz, who won 25 races.

"He's got time on his side and absolutely Casey can go ahead of Mick. And for Mick the worst thing will be if another Australian rider beats his record.

"Casey could get more than 54 wins and stop before he's 30 the way he's going with his strike rate on the Honda."

Stoner has won eight races this season since making a seamless switch from Ducati to Honda.

"I can see Casey getting another couple of wins and making 10 this season. The title is Casey's for the taking," Schwantz said.

Age difference aside, the career statistics of Stoner and Doohan are intriguingly similar.

Stoner, just days before he is 26, has made 98 MotoGP starts for his 31 wins.

Doohan had also made 98 starts for his 31st GP win, the Dutch TT in June 1996. But he was 31, five years older than Stoner.

Stoner has always said that his motivation is enjoyment and winning races and not statistics. He pays little attention to the numbers.

"I'm not going to keep racing season after season just to reach those statistics, that makes no sense to me," Stoner said.

"When the time comes and I'm not enjoying racing and it's time to hang the leathers up then I'll see where I am at.

"I try my best to win every race I'm in and I'm not so worried about championships. If you win races the championship takes care of itself."

Doohan won five world championships from 1994-1998 and was 34 when he announced his retirement.

Italian star Valentino Rossi holds the world record of 79 MotoGP race wins.

- AAP