Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi took second in today’s Phillip Island MotoGP race and paid tribute to Britain’s James Toseland, saying the Tech3 Yamaha rider was very strong and hard to get past.

The Doctor, who had to have injection for a bad headache following his massive qualifying crash yesterday, went from 12th on the grid to second and got involved in a titanic scrap the Yorkshireman.

"I got a good start and I was lucky to miss de Angelis by just a couple of centimetres, and then I arrived to Lorenzo and Toseland," said Rossi.

"The first time I passed James I thought I would be able to go but then he passed me back and I realised that his pace was not so bad, and we had a great battle! He was very strong and difficult to pass but once I did get by I was able to go and then I just kept pushing and gradually Nicky got bigger and bigger.

"It was fun to keep fighting till the last lap and I am very happy with this second position because it’s always a great emotion to be on the podium here. Thanks to my team and to Bridgestone, with Casey as strong as he was I think this was the best we could have done today and I really enjoyed the race.”