Dani Pedrosa said that his runner-up spot at the Indianapolis Grand Prix was an unexpected bonus after he struggled in qualifying.
The Honda rider started fourth, behind Casey Stoner, Ben Spies and Jorge Lorenzo, but made a rocket getaway to take the lead into the first corner. Despite being demoted to second by his teammate Stoner early on, the Spaniard was happy with his result.
"Actually I'm very happy because in qualifying I was one second behind Stoner," he said. "That's a lot and we didn't expect to get the pace today in the race with Ben and Casey. So to finish second is unbelievable here. We did a good job and a good rhythm."
After crashing out of a huge lead at the previous race in the Czech Republic, Pedrosa said that his finishing position more than made up for it.
"After disappointment of Brno, second is a good result," he added. "I'm looking forward to getting to win again, but second place is fine."
Pedrosa's result moved him ahead of Ducati rider Valentino Rossi and into fourth place in the championship.