A bruised and battered Darryn Binder did his chances of moving up to the premier class next season no harm by finishing sixth in Moto3 at the San Marino Motorcycle Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Petronas Sprinta Racing rider, who suffered a heavy crash in Friday's practice, started from 14th on the grid but quickly moved up the field and was seventh by the second lap.
He continued to progress and moved to third with nine laps to go but could not maintain his podium position at the business end of the race and crossed the line sixth (+7.633s).
Leopard Racing's Dennis Foggia took the win in 39:17.002s, followed by Avintia VR46's Niccolo Antonelli (+0.565s) and Rivacold Snipers Team's Andrea Migno (+0.817s).
Binder said the pain made it hard for him to focus on the race.
"It was a difficult weekend for me, as I had a big crash in FP2 that left me feeling terrible yesterday (Saturday)," said Binder.
"I was still struggling during the warm-up because of it (crash), but I gave it everything I had to get to the front at the start of the race.
"I was fighting for the podium, but with five laps to go, I could not block out the pain anymore.
"It was difficult to keep concentration in those last laps. I was making silly mistakes and could not hang onto the back of the group anymore.
"I still managed to finish sixth, which is good.
"I've got to take the positives with me and come back stronger in America."
Teammate John McPhee settled for 13th (+14.898s) in the race after struggling with a rear brake issue in the last 10 laps.
Binder is seventh in the standings with 114 points, while McPhee is 16th (56 points).
Meanwhile, Petronas Sprinta Racing duo Xavi Vierge and Jake Dixon faced contrasting fortunes in Moto2.
Dixon, who lined up 20th on the grid, made contact with another rider in the opening lap and dropped down to last position.
He crossed the line 19th (+28.150s), one spot behind NTS RW Racing GP's Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah (+27.231s).
Vierge got off to a strong start and secured a respectable eighth place (+7.468s) finish.
Red Bull KTM Ajo duo Raul Fernandez (40:40.563s) and Remy Gardner (+0.402s) clinched a 1-2 while Inde Aspar Team's Aron Canet (0.569s) completed the Moto2 podium.
Vierge is 10th in the standings with 75 points, while Dixon and Hafizh are 20th (21 points) and 28th (eight points), respectively.