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Yamaha has won the MotoGP constructors championship from Honda after reigning world champion Valentino Rossi recorded his 11th victory of the season at Australia's Phillip Island.

In beating Honda's Nicky Hayden into second, Rossi took himself to just one win short of equalling Mick Doohan's 1997 record of 12 wins in one season.

The Australian victory was Rossi's fifth on the trot and with the Turkish and Valencia races left it would take a brave man to bet against the little Italian surpassing Doohan's record.

Yamaha went into Sunday's race knowing that securing just one point more than Honda would add the constructors' title to the riders' championship that Rossi secured in Malaysia.

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The team's star rider lined up behind Hayden and after the pair battled back and forth for the majority of the race Rossi got his nose ahead on lap 18 out of 27, finishing just 1.007 seconds ahead of the American.

"This track is magic," said a typically enthusiastic Rossi after his victory. "I've won a lot of times here, a lot of important races for my career."

"I knew right from the start I had a great rhythm and I tried two or three times to push it, but it was impossible because Nicky was always coming with me."

The compliments were repaid by Hayden, whose second place pushed him into second overall in the championship. He admitted that once behind Rossi on the Phillip Island circuit he was just trying to "hang on".

Spain's Carlos Checa came in third for Ducati, just ahead of Honda's Marco Melandri.

Next stop for the MotoGP circus is Turkey on October 23rd.