Bayliss: I crashed trying to fix quickshifter.

Troy Bayliss rocketed up the order from a fourth-row start at Assen yesterday, eventually overtaking world champion Valentino Rossi around the outside for third, only to crash due to a minor technical glitch moments later.

Bayliss dug his bike out of the gravel with some help from the marshals and returned in 16th place, a minute down on the leader. From there he gradually picked his way past rivals for a well-deserved top-ten finish.

"I was trying to fix the quickshifter on the dash, switching it on and off, got into turn one too deep and ran off the track," explained Troy, who now lies seventh on points. "The problem was there from the start, so I ended up shifting gears manually, which is the first time I've had to do that for years. The crash was a real shame because everything else was going pretty good with the bike in the wet."

Pole sitting team-mate Loris Capirossi was sixth after suffering wheelspin problems.

"In the end, and considering the conditions, that wasn't too bad," said Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. "Both our riders finished, and both had a very good pace through most of the race. If Loris hadn't had some trouble in the first laps, and if Troy hadn't slid off, maybe both could have made the podium, but that's racing...

"Apart from tyres, we made only a few changes for the rain - just a few clicks of damping and a little spring preload to soften things up. It's been a hard weekend, and as always I'd like to thanks all our technical partners, especially Shell Advance and Michelin," concluded Cecchinelli.