BMW's Leon Haslam had to have a hole drilled in his finger nail by the team doctor to get rid of a bloody build up following a big highside at Chateau d'Eau in this morning's opening World Superbike free practice session at Magny-Cours.

The gritty Briton went to the Clinica Mobile with a suspected hand injury but was given the all clear to return to the session and then managed eighth place in first qualifying after being unable to brake properly.

"This morning we had a big crash. I had to spend some time with the team doctor who had to drill a hole into my finger nail as a lot of blood had accumulated underneath it. It was my mistake; I just hit a wet patch and lost the bike. From then on we worked on race set-up, doing the normal things you do on a Friday,|" said Haslam.

"My finger was a little bit sore but not too bad. I could feel it throbbing and had to brake with my middle two fingers but with some more treatment it will be fine for tomorrow. We will now work on progressing with the bike’s settings but we have to wait and see what the weather will be like tomorrow.”