Foggy PETRONAS Racing riders Craig Jones and Steve Martin narrowly missed out on points-scoring finishes at the 11th round of the Superbike World Championship in Imola, Italy.

Craig continued his recent improvement with a battling 17th place in the first race and Steve followed that with 16th in race two.

But both riders also suffered mechanical problems, with Steve forced to retire after two laps of the first race and Craig lasting just six laps of race two before an oil leak caused him to pull in.

Alex Barros won his first World Superbike race and Troy Bayliss’ fifth place was good enough to secure the championship before he resumed his domination by winning the second race.

Craig said: “Until half-way through the first race everything was pretty good. My times kept coming down and I got into a rhythm. I was behind Rolfo, pushing really hard and chasing a points-scoring position. Then four or five little problems cropped up which amounted to a big disadvantage so I backed off to make sure I finished. The second race was really disappointing for everyone but, considering this was my first visit here, the weekend fills me with confidence that I could run near the front next year.”

Steve said: “I did the best that I could in the second race. A lit bit more power would have made a big difference but the bike was handling well. However, it was misfiring for the first few laps, which cost me a few spots that were difficult to regain. Then, once I had passed Chili and Brookes, it was a lonely race. In the first race the bike suffered a wheel speed sensor failure, which wasn’t apparent on the warm-up lap. It was causing the bike to misfire and it was impossible to ride so I had no option but to pull in.”