Former World Superbike Champion Max Biaggi has revealed that injuries from a crash in testing at Sepang hampered his race performance in yesterday’s Malaysian double-header.

Biaggi dislocated his left shoulder and gashed his ankle in the crash but he still managed to pull out a third place in race one and become the oldest rider to stand on a WSBK podium.

“The podium is an incredible result. It is a challenge overcome, the challenge of raising the bar to something that no one had ever done before. My race pace was consistent. Rea, Davies and Sykes pulled away at the front straight away. I tried to find my pace without destroying the tyre by overheating it,” said Biaggi.

“It wasn't easy because at the same time you have to push. After overtaking my team mates I began to focus on Sykes who was getting closer and closer. I managed to catch him up and overtake him right at the last lap. I'm super happy. This is the result I was dreaming of, a real cherry on top and the best I could have hoped to achieve.

“The crash in race two doesn't take anything away from my satisfaction. Now that the weekend is over I can reveal that my crash during the tests last week gave me a left shoulder dislocation and an injury that required stitches on my right ankle.

“It was mainly the shoulder that bothered me, especially in the more flowing parts of the track. But we gritted our teeth and everything went brilliantly - just one more reason to rush into a happy holiday break.”

Biaggi is rumoured to also be scheduled for a third wilcard this season at the Qatar final round but Aprilia have yet to confirm or deny the appearance.