Having fought his way back to fitness after some early season injuries, Simpson's first visit to the rostrum this year sees him move up two places in the overall standings and into fifth spot as the series heads to the USA in two weeks time.

The undulating circuit just over an hours drive from Barcelona proved a tough test for all the riders, as heavy rain on Saturday afternoon created a deep and rutted surface for Sunday's main races. Simpson came to the Grand Prix of Catalunya off the back of a mixed result in Portugal just seven days earlier after he crashed out of the second moto.

However despite perhaps lacking his normal confidence, Shaun made a solid start to his weekend in Spain by placing sixth in Saturday morning's initial free practice session, with these being the quickest times posted over the two days due to the hard pack track being at its best. Simpson continued to show good speed in pre-qualifying practice and ended up fifth at the end of the thirty-five minute period.

With a good gate position for his qualifying race, the twenty-two year old from Fife in Scotland knew another top five placing would be sufficient to give him the same pick for Sunday's main two motos. However as the gate dropped on the twenty minute plus two lap sprint, Simpson was left stranded with his front wheel wedged firmly in the metal work as the pack disappeared around the first turn.

Showing good maturity Shaun reacted quickly to free himself and begin his pursuit of the field that was now off in the distance. Heavy rain right at the wrong moment meant conditions out on the circuit and overhead were as bad as could be. Despite this the KTM teamster's fight through the pack was the sign of things to come, as Simpson battled strongly from twenty-first spot at the end of the first lap - having already passed fifteen riders - to an incredible and salvaging thirteenth position come the flag.

Having already had one tangle with the gate, Simpson looked slightly cautious as the gate dropped on Sunday's opening moto. Normally known for his lightning starts, Shaun was mid pack at best as he rounded the right handed first turn, however thanks to clever lines and managing to stay out of trouble the young Scot had worked himself up to eighth as he crossed the line at the end of the initial lap.

The Red Bull rider made his way up to fifth spot as the race progressed, before losing his top five placing to Roelants with just two laps to go. There appeared to be revenge in Shaun's eyes for the second moto, with him hanging on the tail of Musquin and Roczen for the opening lap and a half before he hit the deck in one of the many deep rutted corners.

This one small mistake looked to have spoilt Simpson's weekend as he dropped outside the top ten before he managed to get remounted and restarted. However once again Shaun showed immense fighting spirit as he charged down the riders ahead of him to earn a well deserved fourth place come the chequered flag. This was enough to give Shaun third place overall and the confidence boosting result he has worked so hard for.

Shaun stated. "It's been a tough season so far, for the first few races it has been a case of damage limitation. Step by step it has been getting better, but before today I have not managed to put two races together. Today I did put it together, 6 - 4 is not a great result, but I just got the job done. Maybe I am lucky to be on the podium, but that's motocross and perhaps I deserve some luck finally."

Simpson ended. "Apart from the crash, I was really happy with the way I rode in the second moto. I came back through well and although it's not a track I really like I had fun out there. Hopefully I can now continue in the same way for the rest of the season."