CHAZ Davies endured a weekend to forget after crashing out in race one of the seventh round of the World Superbike Championship (WSBK) in Misano.

The Presteigne ace had targeted a first ever podium on the Italian track but instead crashed during the final lap of the first race which was won by Kawasaki’s Tom Skykes.

With injury ruling him out of the rest of the weekend, Davies’ Ducati team-mate Marco Melandri won race two to climb to fourth in the WSBK, just 23 points behind Davies, in the shock of the weekend.

Davies and championship leader Jonathan Rea crashed late in race one and while the Irishman was able to recover and finish the race, Davies was hospitalised.

Following a CAT scan the Presteigne rider was ruled out of race two with a fractured lumbar vertebra and contusion of the left thumb.

Davies watched race two from the pits as team-mate Melandri stunned the field by fighting back from 10th spot to take the checkered flag.

Davies said: “It’s never ideal to be at the track and not be able to race, but it's good to come to support and honestly I’m happy to be here because it could have been a lot worse.

“I don’t feel 100 per cent, so we’ll focus on recovering in the upcoming days. I’ll visit a specialist and we’ll set a plan based on his recommendations. The goal is to be back at Laguna Seca.” 

Ernesto Marinelli, Ducati superbike project director backed Davies to recover for the eighth round in America next month.

“The end of race one left a bitter taste,” said Marinelli “Chaz and Marco rode a memorable race, both showing they could win, but they crashed out during the last lap.  We’re deeply saddened by what happened to Chaz. He will now observe a rest period, but he has a strong character and I’m sure he’ll tackle it with the same mettle he’s racing with.”