De Puniet baffled by accident

The Frenchman had qualified fourth - his best starting position since joining LCR Honda this year - and was battling for fifth with Colin Edwards when he fell at Turn 1 just before half-distance.

"I suffered the same crash on Friday in the free session but do not understand why," said de Puniet.

"The bike set-up was good and in the previous laps I did not feel any particular problem in the front end.

"Honestly I did not make any mistake and will check the data to understand what happened."

He admitted that the accident was a major blow given his promising qualifying performance and the strong race pace he had produced prior to crashing.

"I am very disappointed because I did a very good qualifying, the best of this season so far, and got a very good start," de Puniet said.

"On lap one I was fifth and could keep my position easily because my pace was consistent and fast.

"When I got the sixth place I knew that I could overtake Edwards and was waiting for the correct moment but I lost the front and crashed out."