Shane Byrne struggled to keep pace with the lead riders during the third round of the World Superbike championship in Valencia.

The British Superbike champion finished ninth and 11th at the Spanish circuit on Sunday as a knee infection hindered his riding.

His best result of the season so far was a sixth place during the previous round in Qatar.

Byrne’s latest outing on his Ducati 1098R didn’t start well as a heavy crash during the Superpole left him sitting 12th on the grid.

The Sittingbourne racer said: “I would like to thank the entire team for a wonderful job done. 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. 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.

“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”.