Bad luck ruins Cardoso's races.

DFXtreme Yamaha rider Jose Luis Cardoso was tipped to be the sensation of the meeting at the first round of World Superbikes at Qatar, after consistently finishing in the top three of the time sheets for much of the practice and testing sessions before the races.

However extraordinary bad luck was to cost the former Formula Extreme champion dearly in his debut in WSBK.

After being held up on his flying lap in Superpole qualifying in the dying stages of the session, Cardoso managed to take sixth position on the second row. This, although not ideal for the top three rider, would at least give him a chance to entering the first corner in a good position.

Unfortunately when it came to starting the bikes for the first race it was obvious something was wrong. Cardoso's Yamaha refused to fire, and despite being wheeled to the pit lane, it still had not started by the time the riders came back round following their sighting lap.

The pit crew worked frantically to get Cardoso's machine going, but without a spare machine, there was no race one start for the Spanish rider.

In race two the team had obviously cured the starting problem as a confident Cardoso took to the grid. When the lights went green Cardoso got a good start following the leaders into the first corner.

However bad luck was to strike again as the wild card entrant Ivan Silva left his breaking a little too late. As he picked his bike up to run on into the gravel, Cardoso, who was directly behind the fellow Yamaha rider, was collected and un-mounted from his machine.

Tumbling through the gravel Cardoso seemed to receive a few knocks from his machine and the ground, which meant he had to be carried off the circuit for a few checks.

He is not believed to have sustained any lasting injuries, and it is thought he will be back in action at Philip Island on the 3rd of April.

This was clearly not the start to his first full year of WSBK action Cardoso had wanted, or the race fans had come to expect.

A leading rider in practices so far this year, Cardoso was expected to be challenging for the lead in both races, not watching the races from the side lines.

As a 500GP rider with D'Antin Yamaha, Cardoso will have visited Philip Island and be likely to show the type of form he hinted at during the first round of the season.

The WSBK field will be in action again at an official test at Valencia on the 13th of March.