John McGuinness endured a painful finish to the Ducati TriOptions Cup season at Brands Hatch following a heavy crash in the opening race on Saturday.

McGuinness was holding sixth place on the opening lap but his race came to an abrupt end on the next lap when the exhaust of his Lund Group Ducati ground against the tarmac, causing the rear wheel to step out.

The 23-time Isle of Man TT winner was fired over the handlebars at Paddock Hill Bend, leaving him with a bruised hip and damaged hand.

McGuinness regrouped to compete in Sunday’s final race of the 2020 season and finished 13th to end his maiden year in the class in seventh overall.

“I felt really good during practice and qualifying and at the beginning of the first race so the crash came out of the blue,” said McGuinness.

“I didn’t feel like I did anything different to other laps but before I knew it I was over the handlebars and bouncing down the road. I’ve still got three screws in my hip from my crash at Oulton Park in 2000 so that was quite sore whilst I also bashed my hand and hurt my knuckles; the bike was also looking a bit second hand too.

“There was no way I was ending the season upside down though so the lads pulled it all together to get the bike ready and away we went.”

Reflecting on race two, the 48-year-old said he wasn’t quite able to finish the campaign as he hoped due to the effects of his crash.

“I was a bit sore though and not quite 10 per-cent so it’s a shame I couldn’t end the season on more of a high and with another top six finish but, overall, it’s been a good, enjoyable year,” he said.

“We’ve started the team from scratch and gone from a track day at Oulton Park to being competitive on a British Championship grid so fair play to Andre (Compton) and all the sponsors for making it happen. A lot of people have been loyal to me and we've got some good results along the way so a big thanks to them and we'll look to be back next year.”

The 2021 Ducati TriOptions Cup is scheduled to commence at Oulton Park next year from May 1-3 while McGuinness is also set to compete at the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT for the Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki team.