"Then coming down the start-finish I saw him on the big TV screen out of the corner of my eye!" smiled Nicky. "He was in my draft so I knew it was going to be tough, there wasn't much I could do and I didn't have much tyre left."

Fittingly for the fastest racetrack on the MotoGP calendar, the last three world champions climbed the podium: Stoner, Rossi and Hayden - Hayden delighting the assembled fans by throwing his boots into the crowd.

"It's cool to be on the podium," said the #69. "I enjoyed the race, it was a lot of fun - riding this track at the limit for 27 laps is quite intense, you really don't realise how fast you're going around here."

The result moved Hayden up two places in the world championship standings to sixth overall with two rounds remaining. Hayden is now just 14 points behind his 2009 replacement Andrea Dovizioso with 50 points up for grabs.

"Nicky did a great job today, congratulations to him and the team for the podium result," said team manager Kazuhiko Yamano. "The race was pretty tough, with a very fast pace, but the rider, his machine and the Michelin tyres worked well at Phillip Island today. I would like to thank Nicky and the team for this result."

Hayden's Bridgestone-shod team-mate Dani Pedrosa crashed out of third place at turn two on the opening lap.