Edwards thanks 'karma' for third place

Two years ago Edwards was battling for the Dutch TT win with Nicky Hayden when he crashed within yards of the chequered flag while dicing with his compatriot.

Ironically this year his last lap elevation to third came at Hayden's expense, as the former champion's Honda faltered on the way into the last chicane and crawled across the line in fourth, allowing Edwards onto the podium.

"What do you say? What goes around, comes around. He who laughs last, laughs hardest," Edwards said. "Whatever you want to say, it's karma, I guess.

"There is not one single shred of me that feels sorry for Nicky Hayden!"

The Tech 3 Yamaha rider made a remarkable recovery to reach the podium despite tumbling to the back of the field when he had to go wide avoiding Valentino Rossi's tangle with Randy de Puniet at the first corner.

"It was a difficult race," said Edwards. "I thought I got a good start, then I came out of Turn 1 and realised I hadn't had a good start...

"And then Valentino crashed in front of me and I basically had to stop the bike. I possibly could've gone left but I knew Valentino was on the ground there and I didn't want to run over him or run over his bike, so I just sort of stopped it and let everything go. Next thing you know, I was dead last."

Edwards took fourth place just after half-distance, but with Hayden eight seconds ahead at that point, it looked like he had reached the limit of his charge.

However Edwards continued to push and then benefited when Hayden encountered his last lap problem.

"I had to come through the field and saw Dani (Pedrosa) and Nicky coming back to me," said Edwards.

"I kept getting closer and closer, and I was pushing as hard as I could. There was nothing I could really do but keep pushing.

"Sure enough at the last corner, that same little section that got me a couple of years ago got Nicky this year. I guess that's racing. We ended up on the podium and I'm happy."

Edwards' team boss Herve Poncharal was overjoyed with the result.

"When he got to fourth, we thought 'okay, no way (he can get a podium),'" Poncharal told BBC television. "The other two were a bit slower but too far in front. I don't know what happened to Nicky's bike, but it was a present from God."

He also hinted that Edwards' current strong form was likely to see him retained by the team for 2008.

"I think we know who's going to be our second rider next year," said Poncharal.