KENNY Roberts Jr, riding for his father's Banbury-based Moto-GP team, finished on the podium for a second time this season, taking third place in a thrilling Portuguese GP.

Roberts equalled his best result of the year so far - but was disappointed after having started the final lap of the Estoril circuit narrowly in the lead. He misread a pit board, and thought that was the final lap and that he had won.

Instead, eventual winner Toni Elias (Honda) defending champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) got past on the last lap. Roberts crossed the finish line just 0.176 seconds behind the winner.

It was a fine achievement by the 2000 World Champion, riding a Honda-powered KR211 machine, as he had started from 13th position on the grid after problems in qualifying.

There was drama halfway through the race, when points leader Nicky Hayden was taken out by his crashing Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa, as the pair were disputing third place.

The last race of the season is at Valencia, Spain in two weeks.