A tense Race 2 at Jerez saw Tom Sykes just deny his Kawasaki teammate Jonathan Rea a second consecutive title – at least until Qatar in two weeks time – as the Yorkshireman followed the Northern Irishman across the line in third place.

Neither of the KRT duo were able to keep up with runaway race leader Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) who took his second win of the weekend by an almost six second margin. Meanwhile, behind them Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike Team) was closing in and had he beaten Sykes to third it would have been enough to hand Rea the title.

After a weekend where he took two solid podiums at a track where he admits he has not always had the strongest results Rea leaves Jerez taking a 48 point lead into the final round at Qatar. That means Sykes needs to win both of the final two races to have any chance of denying his rival the title, which given the current form of Davies will be a huge challenge.

Sykes insists that just staying ahead of Davies in the standings is a concern for him at this stage. “40 points or 48 points that was finally the difference and we are clutching at straws,” he reflected after Race 2. “The problem is that has allowed Chaz to close up even more and he is on great form. We need to find a better bike, a better set up and hopefully something that can allow me to be aggressive from start to finish like Chaz, because at the moment I feel like I am playing with myself during the race, so really disappointed. Overall third is the best we could manage today and that’s racing. We’ve got to move on from this and get stronger.”

On his results at the Gaerne Spanish Round and the title situation Rea stated, “We had to play the long game here. I haven’t felt so good at this circuit honestly. So to be two times on the podium is quite good. The gap to Chaz and Ducati is a bit worrying right now. But we can move on to Qatar, which is a track I really enjoy. Last year I had one good race there so we will see. I’m very relaxed now though, because even with the form of Chaz right now and with 48 points I think we can go to Qatar in a relaxed mood and look to pick up the target there.”