Althea Ducati's Carlos Checa Checa tumbled down the points standings after a less than stellar weekend at Donington Park which saw finish sixth in race one and crash out of race two on the first lap.

The Spanish Althea Ducati rider ran into the back of Eugene Laverty at Redgate on the first lap of race two, which also saw him nudge team-mate Davide Guigliano into the gravel. Checa managed to salvage some points in race one, where he finished sixth but now finds himself 23 points behind Max Biaggi in the title chase.

“After the result of race one, which wasn’t bad, I thought I’d be able to do more in the second. I tried to start strong and found a good position but when I got to the apex I saw Laverty in front of me and he braked suddenly, maybe there was a rider in front of him, I don’t know,” said Checa.

“I did everything I could to brake, to stop the bike, but there were riders all around me and I couldn’t avoid a fall. My leg is a bit sore and a little swollen but I’m ok. I need a couple of days to get over this result and then I’ll start preparing for Miller.”