Elf Marc VDS Racing Team’s rider had an unfortunate end to WorldSBK Race 1 at Aragon as he crashed out due to a wing from another machine getting stuck between his swingarm and rear tyre.

• After a strong Friday at the Motorland Aragon Circuit, Sam showed he was in the mix on Saturday morning during FP3, when he set the 10^th fastest time.
• Despite feeling there were one or two areas of set-up that could be improved, the Briton enjoyed a strong showing in Superpole, as he qualified 8^th with a time that was just 0.54s off pole position.
• But he 34-year old was out of luck in Race 1 as a wing from another machine got lodged between his swingarm and rear tyre at Turn 1, which then caused a huge high-side entering Turn 5. Sam was then taken to hospital for a medical check to assess his physical condition ahead of Sunday’s races.

“It’s a shame how today ended as we did a good job”

“It’s incredible what happened today. The wing from the bike of another manufacturer got stuck in our rear wheel. There wasn’t anything I could do about that. The rear locked up and threw me over the top. I’m on my way to hospital now to check the extent of the damage to my left shoulder. It’s a shame how today ended as we did a good job. Qualifying went well earlier. I was just missing a little bit to be further forward. Then I didn’t have a bad start in the race but was just unlucky on the first lap.”