IT PROVED a difficult weekend for Chippenham-born racer Danny Kent as he was forced to retire from the latest Moto2 class race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Leopard Racing rider Kent, 21, had maintained his qualifying position at the start of the race, but was forced to pit due to a technical anomaly on his Kalex, eventually leading to his withdrawal.

Kent, who has 12 points and lies 18th in the overall championship standings, said: “Of course I’m disappointed with the result, another DNF.

"We were very unlucky with the problem we had with the front brake disc and pads.

"It’s been a tough weekend. We had some good moments but had a small crash in qualifying which had us down in 21st.

"This is not how we wanted to start, we have to keep our heads high and keep working. Hopefully our bad luck leaves us soon.”

The next race is at Assen TT in Holland on June 26.