Vermeulen: Top two were too fast

The Suzuki race - a noted wet weather ace despite his dislike of the conditions - was the fastest man on the track in the middle of the race as he carved through from 14th on the grid to third.

His pace suggested he would then chase down Stoner and Rossi, but ultimately he faded and had to resist Alex de Angelis to secure third.

"We had a bad qualifying session and starting from the fifth row made it quite difficult - there was a lot of spray from a lot of bikes," said Vermeulen. "But I stayed upright for the first few laps.

"Like Casey, we used a harder rear tyre and it was difficult to get heat into it. But after we got that tyre working, I got into my rhythm.

"I felt quite comfortable, but there was no way I was catching these two guys - they were too fast today and full credit to them."

The Australian praised his team for producing a highly competitive wet set-up despite most of practice taking place either in dry conditions or much lighter rain than was seen on race day.

"I'd like to thank Suzuki, they did a great job with the bike in the little set-up time we had in the rain," said Vermeulen.