Casey Stoner held off the fast-finishing Jorge Lorenzo to win the Italian Grand Prix yesterday and bring to an end Valentino Rossi's seven-year reign.

The Australian also took over the lead in the world championship standings with his second win of the season having also triumphed in Qatar in the opening race of the season.

He now leads Lorenzo, who started on pole here, by four points in the championship standings with Rossi third, a further five points back.

In a dramatic race that began in wet conditions, Stoner seized the advantage when switching bikes after 10 laps for a change of tyres.

"Once I got onto the slicks I found a good feeling immediately and I was able to get to the front quite quickly, but then I started having a problem with the clutch," he said.

"It was a really hard race and I just wanted to finish it. I just tried to stay smooth and keep the same lap times even if I couldn't ride the way I wanted to."

He was the fastest man on the track by some margin in those first few laps after the switch and although Yamaha pair Lorenzo and Rossi were quickest at the end, they had both lost too much time and too many places to hit back.