De Puniet reckons fourth was possible

The LCR Honda rider had qualified eighth, but fell back to 14th on the first lap. He recovered to seventh before crashing on the penultimate lap when battling with James Toseland. The Frenchman dragged his bike out of the gravel and rejoined to take 15th.

"I am very disappointed," de Puniet said. "After my third bad start of the season I knew that I could go faster and catch the first five positions so I began to lap consistently fast.

"The bike set-up and the tyres were pretty good therefore I felt comfortable for the rest of the race and was able to pass several riders including Toseland. Then, on the second-last lap at Turn 4, I closed too much the angle in the middle of the corner and lost the front.

"I went out in the gravel but was able to rejoin the race getting the 15th position which is not the result we expected."

De Puniet was more frustrated by his poor start than his later error, and believes he would have beaten top five finishers Colin Edwards and John Hopkins had he stayed with the leaders at the start.

"Honestly with a better start I would have been able to catch Hopkins and probably Edwards," he said.