Melandri: one of the best days of my life

The Italian rider crashed heavily during qualifying on Saturday, but he climbed from 10th on the grid to third during the race despite being in pain on the bike.

"After so many difficulties, this is one of the best days of my life," Melandri told Italia1 television. "It was incredible.

"This morning I couldn't even do the warm-up. Without pain killers I was a zero. I must really thanks all the people who have helped me to race."

The Gresini Honda rider admitted that he had tried to avoid pushing too hard, as he was aware of how much pain he would be in later in the race.

"I started calmly and even though I was struggling I saw I could keep a good pace," he added. "I tried not to exaggerate, and when I saw Valentino (Rossi) coming behind me again I pushed a bit harder."

Melandri passed Rossi early in the race, but the Yamaha rider pushed hard to keep up with him once he had fallen behind.

However, by the time that Melandri began to struggle with his injuries, he was in a clear third place.

"At the end I was struggling to change up the gears, making me use the entire leg because I couldn't move my ankle anymore," he said.

Melandri has been confirmed as a Ducati rider from next season, but after the race he praised Honda, who came in for some criticism from him earlier in the year.

"My team have given me a fine bike, so I thank Honda for the developments and Bridgestone for the tyres," he said. "I'm happy to have given the team a podium today, because it's a difficult day."