Denning praises Hopkins' ride

In his 82nd MotoGP start, Hopkins took the lead off the line and was the only rider able to stay in touch with Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi.

He briefly moved up to second when Rossi ran wide trying to pass Stoner, but lost out to the Italian before the flag.

Despite coming tantalisingly close to a runner-up spot, Denning said the team were more than happy with third place.

"I was very pleased with John today. It was not a lucky podium against those two guys," he said.

"With the way Casey is riding at the moment and Valentino Rossi being Valentino Rossi, I've got no complaints about settling for third in those last few laps. He used up a bit of the bike actually getting to them too.

"And even when he throttled off he was still faster than the works Honda so that's good for our confidence, but I expect them to be much better at Le Mans where they have much more experience."