Ducati Marlboro's Casey Stoner (Photo: Ducati Corse) » More Photos

But this race was all about Stoner's patience and smoothness in treacherous conditions.

"When I saw Dani pulling away I thought there was no way to catch up but then I saw his bike flip and he was in the gravel," Stoner said. "The conditions today could have caught any of us out. Now I'm just going to try and keep closing the gap in championship and I believe we can be in with a chance of fighting for it again, but there's long way to go."

Pedrosa had pulled an amazing gap of seven seconds in five laps before crashing at over 120 mph just as he touched the brakes for Turn 1 on lap six.

He suffered a fractured left index finger and suspected fracture in his left ankle and immediately flew out to Barcelona on Sunday night for specialist treatment in the hope of being fit for Laguna Seca.

"It was a little strange, I had only just touched the brake and I crashed," Pedrosa said. "It was a real pity because I'd got a great start and was going well. The front felt perfect, the rear was sliding just a little, but the general feeling was good considering the track conditions."

From the third row of the grid Rossi had to concede early ground and by the time he settled in second on lap nine winning was always going to be difficult.

"I didn't win but it is positive for me to be back at the top of the rankings," Rossi said. "I had a good feeling and it was fun to ride even in the bad conditions. I saw Dani going very fast and then his bike in the gravel and after that it was not possible to catch Casey."

In scoring Suzuki's first podium of a lackluster season Vermeulen was in stellar form. He braved the blinding spray after starting from 14th to splash his way through the pack for an impressive third.

"I had a bad qualifying and from the fifth row there was a lot spray in the early laps," Vermeulen said. "But I stayed upright and like Casey I used harder compound tire and it was difficult to get heat into it, but once I got to third there was no chance to catch Casey and Valentino today."