"It was a hard race to finish a pretty hard season and while it wasn't how I wanted to finish on a personal note, it was great that I contributed to the team getting fourth by a point. I'm glad I managed to hang on at the end there because I was coming under a lot of pressure," he admitted.

"In the first half of the race I was probably a bit quicker than Jorge but I just couldn't make a pass on him stick. I got him a couple of times but I made mistakes and let him back through. One time I put my hand in the air to apologise for a close move going into the first corner, and as I put my hand back for the second corner I missed my braking marker. So I'm annoyed with myself about that.

"I was in a real fight at the end and I was just struggling for a bit of grip. We tried quite a big change on the set-up and it worked well for the first half of the race, but towards the end I had to ride a bit defensive and make sure I didn't lose too many places. The team deserve to be fourth in the championship this year and I was determined to help them achieve it.

"Tech 3 and Yamaha have given me unbelievable support in my rookie year and I was pleased to battle right to the last lap to get that result for them. I have learned a lot in 2008, and I'm looking forward to working hard in the winter and making a big impression next season," he declared.

Poncharal was delighted to have finished the season in a 'fantastic way':

"It was a fantastic way for us to end the season and I really want to thank Colin and James for their effort," said the Frenchman. "It was a tough weekend with the weather conditions but it was very important to end on a positive note and we were reasonably confident when both of them qualified on the second row.

"Colin made a great start and he did a good race, keeping a really good rhythm. In the first half of the race, James looked even a little bit quicker than Jorge but he couldn't quite pass him. He pushed really hard throughout even though he didn't have 100 per cent confidence, but it was a strong result and by hanging on at the end under a lot of pressure he helped us get fourth in the Teams' Championship and we beat two full factory teams. That was our target before this weekend and we achieved it.

"I'd like to congratulate Yamaha again for an incredible season. They gave us a great bike in 2008 and I'd also like to say a big thanks to Michelin for their support. Thanks to them and Yamaha we had one pole position and two podium finishes. We will miss Michelin but we now must look forward to a new era.

"Everyone at Tech 3 is now looking forward to a quick break and we will be back raring to start our 2009 preparations in Jerez at the end of November," he concluded.

The Jerez test will see Edwards and Toseland make their debut with Bridgestone tyres.