Edwards: I was waiting for a faller... it was me.

Despite the treacherous nature of Sunday's rain interrupted Australian Grand Prix there was fortunately only one big accident, suffered by Colin Edwards just before he was due to pit for his spare bike.

The Camel Yamaha rider had qualified in a promising fifth and was holding sixth when he was caught out by a slippery patch of track in the middle of the second corner, which caused the rear tyre of his YZR-M1 to lose grip and step out before digging in again and throwing him over the handlebars. Edwards landed hard on his backside and was badly winded.

"That was a weird race. I actually got a decent start and I felt comfortable out there, but I think this flag to flag racing is dangerous. I think most of us thought we'd just keep riding until somebody crashed, and wouldn't you just know it - that person was me," he revealed. "I'd actually made my mind up to pit and I held my leg out to the crew as I came down the straight to warn them, so I wasn't pushing any harder than I had done on the previous lap. I was off the brakes and off the gas, just tipping it into turn two, when the rear stepped out then dug in and threw me into a handstand.

"I came down real hard on my backside and that's where the pain is right now. I'm extra disappointed because we'd done a good job with the bike this weekend and if it stayed dry we were all set for a top result. Unfortunately it seems whenever they put the race back an hour it gives the weather a chance to move in. I guess that's live television for you!" he added.

"It's good news that Colin is not hurt after his crash, and it's really unlucky that it happened when he was going so well and after he had made such good progress this weekend," said team director Davide Brivio. "He could have had a good race so it's a pity for him."