Sterilgarda's Shane Byrne reckons his Valencia World Superbike weekend went wrong on Friday when the pain from an infection in his knee prevented him from being on any kind of pace in free practice.

The reigning British Superbike Champion received some treatment at the Clinica Mobila and went out in Superpole only to crash in the second session. Byrne managed ninth in race one and nicked 11th in race two from John Hopkins.

"Everything seemed to go wrong when on Friday I was 19th and I was in pain because of the knee infection. We didn't quit and we worked all together," said Byrne.

"The feeling on the bike and on the track was great and the machine responded well also. I had two good races despite my starting position. In race two I even touched Biaggi and Corser and lost a lot of positions. However, I'm confident that the team has potential to fight for the top. I hope to do just that at Assen when I'll be recovered physically."