Eugene Laverty flown to hospital in Melbourne with pelvic injury after crash in final World Superbike race of his career at Phillip Island

Laverty was airlifted to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne by helicopter after he was involved in an incident with Spaniard Xavi Fores at the fast Turn 1 with five laps of the race to go on Sunday.

The 36-year-old was initially treated at the circuit’s medical centre and was reported as conscious and stable.

Laverty was competing in the final race of his career after announcing earlier this year that he would retire at the end of the season to take on a co-ownership role and rider coaching role with the Bonovo team.

He finished as the championship runner-up in 2013 behind Tom Sykes and won 13 races during a 10-year career in World Superbikes. Laverty was also a two-time runner-up in the World Supersport Championship.

The Toomebridge man also competed in the 250cc Grand Prix class and in MotoGP for two seasons.

As a result of the crash, the race was red-flagged, with world champion Alvaro Bautista securing his 16th victory of the season in the last race of the year ahead of Ulsterman Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes.

Last year’s champion Toprak Razgatlioglu, who finished fourth on the Pata Yamaha, ended the season as the runner-up behind Bautista with Rea claiming third in the final standings after 12 rounds.

Rea said: "After race two there is a mixture of disappointment and happiness to finish the year this way because I felt in that race that my bike set-up was much better.

"I think we have to be really satisfied with our effort this season. Of course, I made a few mistakes along the way but also I think the final results are a highlight of where we are.

"We need to improve, but in saying that I think we were more or less 25 points away from Toprak Razgatlioglu at the end of the season - the guy who won the championship last year.”

Rea won Saturday’s opening race to end a 24-race winless streak, sealing his sixth victory in total this year for the Kawasaki Racing Team.