Leon Haslam was expecting a fight at Donington Park on Sunday, heading into his home UK Round with three cracked ribs following a heavy crash at Imola.

Having enjoyed stints at the front of both races, Haslam would eventually settle for fourth position on both occasions, ending the pair of Donington encounters behind Kawasaki duo Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea as well as Ducati’s Chaz Davies.

“It was tougher than I expected,” the Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils rider explained following Sunday’s Paddock Show. “In my head, I thought I was going to get two thirds. The Kawasakis were super strong again this weekend.

“We have a few issues but, honestly, the big issues were with me. Big arm pump in Race 1, while overcompensating, and a little bit in Race 2; as I was changing direction in the last two heavy braking sections, I was losing too much. We have a couple of weeks before Portimao and hopefully we’ll be a lot stronger.”

As the halfway point of the season approaches, Haslam remains second in the Riders’ Championship but is now 101 points behind leader Rea, while 2013 title winner Sykes has moved to within just one point of the leading Aprilia rider.