Epsom’s Moto2 rider Gino Rea suffered from more bad luck this weekend at the San Marino Grand Prix.

Rea, 22, set fast lap times during practise on the  Misano World Circuit and carried this pace through to qualifying, but a crash in the latter stages of the session meant he could not get back out and, as a result, qualified in 23rd.

Rea’s bad luck continued in the race, where his engine blew up on the fourth lap, forcing Rea to retire.

He said: “We were unlucky. After the crash in qualifying, we hoped it would be all our bad luck done but it wasn’t to be.

“In the race I made a good start, then my engine blew and it was race over. It’s rare for a Moto2 engine to blow so we were unlucky.

“The good thing is we improved the bike as a package and if qualifying had gone our way, I could have battled for good positions and points.”

Moto2 returns in two weeks’ time in Aragon, Spain.