PICS: Checa hospitalised by Phillip Island K.O

Carlos Checa will spend a night in hospital for observation after his spectacular collision with Marco Melandri in the opening race of the season at Phillip Island, but has otherwise sustained no serious injuries.

The Spaniard, who had qualified on pole position for the new Ducati 1199 R's debut race, was running fourth when he out-braked himself into the turn four Honda hairpin, clipping the rear end of Melandri's BMW.

Sending both barrelling out of the race, Checa was knocked unconscious in the collision. Coming round a few minutes later, he said he had no recollection of the accident and was taken to the local hospital for further checks.

Once there, he was diagnosed with concussion, but no broken bones or serious injury. He will be kept in overnight as a precaution.

Despite the joy of securing pole position, Checa's accident capped off an otherwise troubled weekend for the Alstare Ducati team after Ayrton Badovini was also forced to withdraw due to a broken foot.

The riders now have six weeks to recover for the second round, which takes place at Motorland Aragon.

To view the full sequence of snaps from the accident, scroll down this page.