Roberts had started with the leading group, and held his pace as eight riders crashed out in the spray, choosing a steady and consistent race to add 13 championship points to his score, and a second successive fourth place for the still-developing new Suzuki GSV-R V4 four-stroke prototype.

But the team's celebrations were muted after heartbreak for his team-mate Sete Gibernau. The Spaniard came within less than 10-miles of a resounding victory and the race of his career, only to become the highest-profile victim of conditions that claimed a record number of crashes as intermittent but driving rain punished all three GP classes.

Starting from the third row of the grid, Sete had forced his way into first place on the third of 28 laps of the 4.182km Estoril circuit. He charged away and repeatedly upped the pace to stretch his lead to almost six seconds shortly before half-distance. As the field thinned out, Sete maintained a clear lead, responding every time second-placed Honda rider Valentino Rossi closed the gap with another fast lap of his own. He still had a lead of more than 3.5 seconds ahead of eventual winner Rossi, with less than four laps remaining, when the bike snapped sideways entering one of the tortuous circuit's tight turns, and he was thrown off and out of the race.

Early tests revealed no fractures, but Sete was in considerable pain after landing heavily on his shoulder and his side, and was still undergoing treatment an hour after the race had finished.

This was the penultimate European round, with four "flyaway" races to follow in Brazil, Japan, Malaysia and Australia before the final round at Valencia, where last year Sete won his first GP.

KENNY ROBERTS - Fourth Position - "That was a tough race, but at least the track was consistently wet. I started well, then when the pace got faster I was riding by myself. The bike needs to be part of me, and me part of the bike, before I can push to the maximum, and though we're not quite there yet, we're getting there bit by bit. I had to be patient and go for the finish. But this bike is still very young, and we're still at a relatively early stage of development. I'm satisfied with getting my best result so far this year."

SETE GIBERNAU - Did Not Finish - "I'm pretty sore at the moment, and though it seems nothing is broken I'm going straight home for some more check ups. Obviously it's disappointing to crash out after leading for so long. I was using the new slipper clutch, which came this weekend. We are still getting it set up right. I thought I had the race under control ... I was getting signals where Rossi was, and I was able to keep the gap. With only three and half laps to go and more than three seconds lead I was fully confident he wouldn't be able to catch me. The crash happened when I was still upright. I closed the throttle and locked the back wheel. There was no chance of saving it."

GARRY TAYLOR - Team Manager - "Sete rode a magnificent race today, in spite of the end result. He responded to every challenge Valentino Rossi threw at him. Today he and his crew will be down, but in reality I think he can look back on this race with pride. We're certainly proud of him. Kenny did well in a different way - riding a machine that he's not really comfortable with and in very difficult conditions he achieved his best result of the year. His ride may have been overshadowed by Sete and by what might have been, but fourth place in these circumstances was highly creditable to him and the team. Just what we needed."