Inspiring weekend leaves De Puniet pleased with “step forward”

Randy de Puniet’s solid progress this season continued at high speed at the AirAsia British Grand Prix, concluding with sixth place in Sunday’s race after his first front row start since Assen 2007.

The LCR Honda rider displayed blistering pace in practice and qualifying on board his satellite RC212V machine, and battled for a podium finish for much of the race.

“It was a good race and I had fun but, like in Mugello, I finished behind the leading group. It’s a pity but I feel satisfied anyway,” said De Puniet, who was the first non-factory rider on the front row of the starting grid since Colin Edwards at Sachsenring in 2008.

De Puniet duelled magnificently with Andrea Dovizioso – who finished second – for a large part of the race, and used his place on the grid to full effect as he pushed himself hard at the beginning.

“I had a very good start from the front row and I was able to rely on my machine as we lapped consistently fast for the whole weekend,” he said. “With four laps remaining the front of the bike started to move too much because we raced on a soft front tyre, which was the right choice, but today’s ground temperature was probably a bit higher compared to the rest of the weekend.”

De Puniet also praised the work of his team, who put in a superb effort to make his bike so competitive. “The guys gave me an incredible machine here and we can be pleased about this result as we battled for the podium,” he said. “In my opinion we took a step forward this weekend.”

The French rider maintains sixth position in the World Championship standings after the result, and is now on 46 points.