Lorenzo amazed to be on the podium

The sensational rookie has both ankles immobilised while they heal, and has had extreme difficulty walking all weekend. He added to his discomfort by crashing twice in practice, and also lost ground from fifth on the grid at the start.

But Lorenzo then charged through the field in the second half of the race to take a remarkable runner-up finish behind factory Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi, and ahead of Colin Edwards' Tech 3 Yamaha.

"My dream was to finish fifth in this race because we had a lot of problems in practice and all I was thinking about was to finish," Lorenzo said. "To finish second is amazing."

He said the result was particularly special as it was part of a Yamaha one-two-three.

"This dream result for Yamaha is fantastic," Lorenzo said. "We have a very competitive bike and we have demonstrated this now."

The Spaniard had to sit down as soon as he got off the bike, and had a chair placed on the podium for him, only standing to receive his trophy.

He admitted that he was in a lot of pain by the end of the race, but said the result helped him overcome it.

"Now we have to be happy and celebrate, and not pay any attention to the pain," Lorenzo told BBC television. "It's really painful in all of my body, but my mood is so happy."