De Puniet happy just to be on podium

His Donington Park podium was de Puniet's best finish since joining LCR Honda last season, and only the second top three result of his MotoGP career after his runner-up spot for Kawasaki at a wet Motegi in 2007.

De Puniet had been fighting with the frontrunners when he crashed out at the Sachsenring a fortnight ago - a rare error in a much more consistent season from the once-erratic Frenchman - so was delighted to atone for that mistake with a podium this weekend.

"For me it's perfect to be on the podium after my crash at the Sachsenring," he said. "We need to continue like this. I know the next races will not be the same [weather], but we can be happy with this."

At one stage it looked like a shock victory might be possible as de Puniet closed on leader Andrea Dovizioso's Honda in the increasingly treacherous conditions, but the Frenchman said he had settled for second before being spurred into action by Edwards appearing on his tail.

"When I saw Dovi maybe six seconds in front of me, I said 'okay, second place is okay for me,'" said de Puniet. "But then I saw my pit board and saw Colin was coming too fast, and I thought 's***, if I want to keep my podium, I need to push.'

"This helped me to catch Dovi, but it was too late and also the last two laps were so slippery, especially on the left side, and I was lucky to finish."