James Toseland put in a good performance and came home sixth in yesterday's San Marino MotoGP.

The Ramsey resident was involved in a thrilling battle with Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen for much of the race.

He climbed from ninth to sixth by lap eight and when he passed Andrea Dovizioso to move into fifth he was on target for his best MotoGP finish.

But the Tech 3 Yamaha rider couldn't pull away from Vermeulen and the Australian overtook him with six laps remaining.

Speaking after the race Toseland said: "I'm enjoying the challenge. It's great to be back in the top six. Fifth would've been amazing, but we can push on from here."

Meanwhile Italian legend Valentino Rossi won the race and extended his lead in the championship to 75 points after main rival Casey Stoner crashed out, failing to finish for the second race in succession.

Stoner is now just two points ahead of third-placed Dani Pedrosa in the standings.