Crocked works BMW World Superbike star Marco Melandri rode through the pain of his cracked ribs in first qualifying this afternoon at Magny-Cours, despite feeling like he is being stabbed every time he moves on the bike.

Melandri damaged the ribs in his race-one get-off at Portimao but managed to set third quickest time today despite the pain he is in and some chatter woes from the S1000RR.

“It was nice to be back on the RR, but it is not easy because every time I try to move a little bit faster on the bike it feels like I have a knife in my back. Lap by lap, when I get warmer, it gets better and I can do one or two stronger laps but then I get pain again and feel tired," said Melandri.

"It is difficult because I cannot use the leg and the back to change direction. To do one fast lap is one thing, to do the race will be difficult but it is good to be here and to be able to do one fast lap. Talking about the sporting aspects, we have been working well. We tried to improve in the areas where we were still struggling, for example we worked on further reducing the vibrations. I think we have already found some solutions to improve the bike for next year.”