Chaz Davies escaped injury after a crash in World Superbikes practice left him limping away from the Donington Park track.

The Knighton-born rider went down at Redgate in the third practice session after his Ducati Panigale bike snapped out of control on a wet patch.

Davies got up straight away but was limping and was helped from the track by a marshal to go to the medical centre for a check-up.

The 31-year-old finished 16th fastest and will have to battle through Superpole 1 on Saturday to set his grid spot for the first race.

“I was just getting into a rhythm in the dry, finding my pace and checking how the bike reacted a little bit, I didn’t really push too much,” said Davies, whose best result at the Leicestershire track is third.

“I was actually slowing down on my way back to the pits, but I caught a wet patch and the rear locked.

“It was just one of those awkward crashes that sometimes happen. It’s unfortunate that we missed some quality track time there.

“If tomorrow (Saturday) it is dry, it’s not going to be helpful, but the bike felt quite OK initially, which is a positive.

“We’ve made steady improvements in the rain, but we’d need another step, which we have to try.

If it’s dry, we just need more track time. We’ll just wait and see what the weather does, and try to come out as prepared as we can.”