De Angelis elated with first MotoGP podium

San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Alex de Angelis clinched his first ever MotoGP podium at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix on Sunday, having secured his best ever premier class grid position on Saturday.

The young San Marino rider, who has his home event to look forward to next weekend, lost ground at the start of the Indy contest but fought back to overcome the experienced Colin Edwards early in the race.

Overtaking Edwards to move up to fourth, before benefiting from crashes for Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi, De Angelis held his nerve for the rest of the contest behind Jorge Lorenzo.

Still to secure a MotoGP ride for 2010, De Angelis said after 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 sitting seventh in the standings, the Honda satellite man continued, “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.”