BMW's Marco Melandri escaped with just heavy bruising after being run over in the first of today's World Superbike races at Portimao but has suffered in the title stakes as two non-scores means he is now nearly 40 points behind Max Biaggi.

Melandri believes he was brought down on the wet Portugese track and as he crashed, Aprilia's Chaz Davies had nowhere to go but over the top of the Italian. He was taken to hospital for checks but has escaped with serious bruising. He has now not scored in the last four races and faces an uphill battle for the title.

“Once more it was a very bad day for me. When Max Biaggi passed me I kept my inside line and I did not really see him. I just heard the sound of somebody touching the front of my bike and I went down and I felt something hit my back," said Melandri.

"I was very worried about my back, kidney or liver because it hurt very badly. Fortunately the medical exams show that everything is okay. Now it is a bit better because I took a lot of painkillers, but I still don’t feel very well.”