Despite feeling under the weather, Max Neukirchner enjoyed a solid debut with the Alstare Suzuki team in Qatar with two top eight finishes from the opening rounds of the World Superbike Championship.

Suffering from the effects of a cold, the young German rider was still able to secure a place on the front row of the grid aboard his GSX-R1000 but a storming start to the opening race saw him quickly jump into the lead.

A composed ride saw him run at the front throughout the opening stages but as the race progressed, so Neukirchner slipped back to eventually finish the race in fifth place.

Unable to match that performance in the second race, grip problems meant Neukirchner had to settle for eighth place but he was still relatively happy with how his weekend had panned out, although he admitted it could have gone better.

"It was a really good feeling leading the first race for so long and I felt pretty comfortable doing it," he said. "I made a good start and led from the lights more or less and then I just kept my head down and found I was in the lead without too much of a problem.

"I have been suffering from some kind of a cold or something and, with about eight laps to go, I didn't feel in very good condition. At the same time, I started getting lots of slides and the two things together allowed some riders to pass me and I ended up fifth.

"In race two I changed to a softer tyre, but the grip didn't feel so good. I made a little mistake on the brakes and I lost touch with the leaders and it was not possible to catch them again. All in all, it's not a bad start to the season, but it could've been better."