Byrne vows to bounce back

Shane Byrne is fit to continue his debut MotoGP season despite suffering hand injuries at Jerez.

The Londoner crashed out of the Spanish Grand Prix on lap one as heavy rain made conditions difficult for riders.

Byrne flew off his Aprilia and suffered a heavy landing but when he eventually dusted himself down, he vowed not to let the incident interfere with his season.

He said: “It was unfortunate because I always go well in the wet and had done well in the rain yesterday even though it was my first time in those conditions riding the Aprilia.

“I fell quite hard on my head and my right hand but I will be fit and raring to go in Le Mans.”

Burnley’s Neil Hodgson suffered an equally painful exit from the race, although for the D’Antin Ducati rider, the suffering was more mental than physical.

The World Superbike champion was running seventh when his bike expired, forcing him to retire.

Hodgson could not disguise his disappointment after his first points of the season were cruelly taken from him by a mechanical failure.

“I’m gutted but also heartened by the race,” he said. “I don’t know what happened, and the bike just stopped.

“I was comfortably pulling away from Carlos Checa and Colin Edwards. The first two laps were amazing, and I could not see much when my visor misted up. After that it went well until the breakdown.”

Sete Gibernau won after withstanding a mid-race challenge from Camel Honda’s Max Biaggi, who went on to finish second, well clear of third-place man Alex Barros, on a Repsol Honda.

Rossi was grateful just to finish the race after being flung out of his saddle early on before somehow regaining control.

The Gauloises Yamaha rider finished fourth after holding off Nicky Hayden’s late charge, with the Repsol Honda man fifth.

Rossi was content just to see the chequered flag, saying: “Finally I am happy and relieved, because it was a miracle not to fall off.

“It’s a great shame, because I couldn’t go so fast at the end. I didn’t have much grip, mostly from the rear, and we’ll have to work on set-up to improve this.

“It’s strange not be on the podium, because the last time was in Brno in 2002 when I had a tyre problem.

“Each lap I was trying to be more aggressive, and the front of the bike felt okay. I think we have quite a gap to make with Honda in wet weather, but in general we have had a good weekend with another pole position.”