De Puniet feels he has proved a point

The Frenchman has a reputation as an excellent qualifier, but has often missed out on good results due to race day errors. However this weekend he qualified fifth and then rode consistently to fourth position, his best result since joining the LCR Honda team last year.

"It was a perfect weekend for me and the team," said de Puniet. "When I enjoy the bike I can go really fast and people can see that today. This was the best bike I had since I have been riding with Lucio's team. It was very easy to ride and I had fun.

"I made a good start and when (Andrea) Dovizioso overtook me I remain concentrated trying to keep my position. After few laps he made a mistake and I came back to the fifth place. Then, at the end, the final result of the race gave me the fourth place overall.

"I am very satisfied about the work we did during this week end as we struggled a bit here during the pre-season test."

De Puniet said he was determined to ensure that the Jerez result was not a one-off, but was also keen to keep his expectations for his home race in a fortnight under control.

"Honestly I think that if we keep this pace for the rest of the season we can be very competitive," he said. "However we keep our feet on the ground as we must restart from zero in Le Mans. I absolutely want to finish all the races to get as many points as possible."