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Jonathan Rea has suffered a broken left femur after crashing out while lying fourth in the first World Superbike race at Nurburgring on Sunday.

Rea fell heavily on the penultimate lap after hitting oil laid down by the machine of another rider, with Leon Camier also crashing, but avoiding Rea.

Eugene Laverty crashed on lap four but recovered to finish in 15th position.

The Toomebridge rider improved to take second in race two and stay in touch with the championship leaders.

Aprilia rider Laverty was in sixth spot in race one before sliding off after making a mistake, but went back out on track after making adjustments.

Laverty salvaged one point from his 15th place in race one and now lies fourth in the series standings.

The opening race was red-flagged after Rea and Camier crashed out and the result taken from the last lap completed by all riders, so England's Tom Sykes took the win.

Marco Melandri was second and Welshman Chaz Davies third, but BMW rider Davies improved to secure victory in the second race with his team-mate Melandri third.

Sykes now leads the series on 287 points, one point ahead of Sylvain Guintoli, with Melandri third on 257 and Laverty fourth with 247.

"It's nice to get on the podium - 20 points is a good result and it makes up for the costly mistake I made in race one," said Laverty.

"From here on in I have to stay on board and pick up steady finishes," he added.

Pata Honda rider Rea was transferred to hospital after the high-speed horror crash at turn ten which saw him rebound off the safety barriers.

The Ballyclare rider will undergo surgery on Sunday night to have his leg pinned.

The oil was laid on the track by the expiring Pedercini Kawasaki of Federico Sandi.

The first of the four remaining rounds will take place in Istanbul on 15 September.