I knew after last year's race that this track is very difficult for overtaking, so I tried to get away from pole as quick as I could and escape from the rest of the field. The bike worked perfectly well and I was able to go along with my plan. It's a very important victory for me because the Championship is a lot tighter and I am delighted for the team.

That’s the first time I have finished seventh and that’s not a good satisfaction. This grand prix has been very difficult for us all weekend. We tried hard but we have not been able to find good machine settings to be as competitive as we usually are on other tracks. Also today the bike was heavy and slow entering the corners, and the rear wheel was spinning.

To start from the third row of the grid has been a big handicap because on this circuit, with the handling problems I had with the bike, it was very difficult for me to pass other riders. When I finally recovered from 11th place to fifth (on lap 18) the gap to the Yamaha’s was more than six seconds. Around three-quarter-race distance the grip of my rear tyre got worse the more the rear wheel was spinning and my lap times went up. On the contrary, the four riders in front of me continued to run at the same pace as before. I regret I could not hold on to fifth position. But when Capirossi passed me I lost time repassing him and I would have had to take too many risks to take two extra points from the race. My advantage in the world championship has reduced from 26 points to 10 but the situation is still positive.

After the Suzuka 8 Hours (on August 5) I will take a well-earned holiday. I will go to the seaside, but I don’t know where yet .

I had two heavy crashes yesterday, and even though I was lucky not to have suffered any injuries, my team and I decided that it was better not to start in the race. If I was fighting for the championship I would have tried to start for sure, but the way I feel and the way my situation is without any chance for the title and with a fifteenth place on the grid, it really wasn’t worth to take the risk of another crash. Physically, I feel better than yesterday, fortunately I don’t have any broken bones, but I took a heavy blow to my head, I lost consciousness, and when I got up this morning, I had a headache and felt sick. Now I’m going to rest for a few days, hoping to put it all behind me and to relax, so I can return to action at the Czech Republic Grand Prix end of August.

It was a difficult weekend, and the only thing I can say is that I’m very disappointed. I didn’t start well, and to have a bad start and to get stuck way back in the field means to lose all options of making a good race on this circuit. On the first laps I got away from Haga, Cardoso and Vd. Goorbergh, but when I got close to McCoy, I couldn’t catch up any more and was forced to stay behind him. By mid-race I didn’t have a good feel for the bike any more, it was as if something didn’t work properly. On the last laps, the situation changed again, I was able to up the pace and to put in my fastest lap of the race. Then I crashed in a right hand turn. Fortunately I’m okay."

For a lot of the race I was comfortable sitting behind Westy and on the downhill run through the two left handers I was catching him. Then I ran a little wide, I went in a bit too quick and was trailing the front brake, and lost the front and crashed. It was disappointing because I was enjoying myself and I didn¹t get as tired as I thought I would in my first GP. I'm rapt in the whole weekend, it's been awesome to get on a bike that is much more powerful than anything else I've ridden and even better now that I know I'll be back to do the rest of GPs this season for the Shell Advance team. It's a great opportunity