Edwards disappointed not to win

The Tech 3 Yamaha rider secured his first podium finish since Donington Park last June, but had been convinced he was fast enough to fight for victory after flying in practice, qualifying on the front row and topping the warm-up.

However, although he fought for the lead with Dani Pedrosa, Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner early in the race, he struggled to pass his rivals and had to settle for third.

"I thought today could be the day, absolutely," Edwards said.

"I'm a bit pissed off really. I was going quickly all weekend and I felt I probably should have won this race.

"I felt like I got a really good start, and next thing I knew, there were two guys in front of me - Pedrosa and Stoner. I thought, 'okay, let's make quick work of this and then go', and that quick work didn't turn out to be so quick.

"I was struggling just to get close to them to try to put a move in. With Stoner's power, I could never get close enough at the end of a straight, and Dani was riding really good as well. I just couldn't do anything with them.

"I could've taken somebody out, but these guys are fighting for a world championship at the moment."

Edwards felt he was losing out slightly on acceleration, but reckoned the main thing preventing him from passing was the sheer quality of his rivals.

"It just seemed like it never really got there on acceleration," he said.

"These guys are world champions - you're not going to out-brake them from five bike lengths' back, you've got to be pretty close. I tried to out-brake Casey from half a bike length and ran wide, because he's at the limit. These boys are tough."

But he was eventually able to overtake Pedrosa and claim third when a rain shower made the track treacherous in the closing stages.

"I didn't think the rain was that bad," Edwards said. "The guys in front of me - they were leaving the door wide open when it was raining. I was thinking, 'what do I do here, go barrelling in and risk taking everybody out?'

"You've got to play our cards right, and that's how I got Pedrosa. He checked up a little bit and I thought, 'screw it'. I'm not going to take out a Yamaha, but I'll take a few more risks with a Honda."