San Carlo Honda Gresini competitor Alex de Angelis grabbed his first MotoGP stage appearance at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix on Sunday, having claimed his best ever premier session grid position on Saturday.

The fresh San Marino competitor, who is looking forward to a home event next weekend, failed ground at the beginning of the event but came back to pass the experienced Colin Edwards early in the competition.

Whilst overtaking Edwards to forward up into fourth position, and benefiting from smashes for Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi, De Angelis held tough for the remainder of the contest behind Jorge Lorenzo.

Still wanting to confirm a MotoGP competition next year, De Angelis stated following the race, “I have to thank the team for the incredible job they have done this weekend. The bike has been fantastic ever since we unpacked it on Friday and we have gone from strength to strength over the course of the weekend. They also gave me a lot of confidence this morning and honestly I think they had more belief that I would be on the podium today than I did.”

Now placing seventh in the rankings, the Honda satellite competitor added, “It is a fantastic result but it is no fluke because we have been in great form over the last five races. It is a long time since I was on the podium back in the 250cc class and I had almost forgotten what a great feeling it was. Now I want to enjoy it and celebrate with another good performance at my home race next weekend.”