Guintoli delighted after leading race

The rookie Tech 3 Yamaha rider charged through the field in company with countryman Randy de Puniet as the front-runners rode conservatively in the early damp conditions.

He then passed de Puniet for the lead briefly on lap five, before crashing out of second at the final corner two laps later. With the event declared a wet race, Guintoli was allowed to change to a wet-shod bike and continue to the flag rather than retiring.

"It was very good," he told BBC television. "Leading the race was brilliant, it was very, very good fun.

"I had a terrible start, then I started to overtake everyone and it seemed to never stop, and I ended up at the front of the race. Then I made this little mistake..."

Guintoli admitted that he was fortunate to escape injury in the accident. He was thrown over the top of his bike and was nearly collected by the closely-following Valentino Rossi.

"I'm glad I didn't hurt myself - I've just seen the crash and it was pretty bad, so I'm glad I'm not injured," he said.

"Now the adrenaline is coming down a bit, I can feel I'm a bit sore everywhere. I think I need to rest because I feel pretty shaken."

The Frenchman was unable to maintain his early pace on his Dunlop-shod Yamaha as the rain increased in the second half of the race.

"For us, the wet wasn't a good thing, we still have a lot to improve (in the wet) and the race startd to be difficult," Guintoli said.

"I would have rather had a dry race, but it was all good fun."