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The 2016 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season will be remembered as the year Jonathan Rea cemented his status in the record books by becoming the first rider since Carl Fogarty to claim back-to-back WorldSBK titles.

While Rea has led the standings since the opening race of the season, it has been a year where Rea has had to dig deep to win. On paper though, the Northern Irishman has had a trouble free campaign with his nine wins and 23 podium finishes painting a dominant picture. It was however a hard fought battle with Tom Sykes and Chaz Davies.

Davies was arguably the fastest rider in the Championship this year, with the Ducati star taking 11 wins. If not for a run of form that saw him take just 29 points from five races in the mid-season, Davies could have been in a position to make life very difficult for Rea in the desert of Qatar.

As it was, the final round of the Championship was little more than a coronation for the record breaking Rea but it was the scrap for second in the standings that made the final race interesting.

Having dominated the opening round in the final race of the year, Davies took advantage of Rea running wide on the second lap and opened a commanding lead over his pursuers. Sykes was the man giving pursuit and the Kawasaki rider was doing enough to claim second in the standings but a red flag changed the complexion of the race completely.

Suddenly Davies faced a ten-lap shootout to take a win that would give him six consecutive victories. Sykes' challenge for second in the standings took a hit too, with his on track lead over his pursuers negated and facing the uncertainty of the ten-lap race.

It was however the lifeline that Rea needed and when the race resumed he quickly moved into the fight at the front. Having dispatched with Sykes, the focus for Rea became Davies and as the season entered the final laps Rea was ready to fight for the win.

If he got in front of Davies it would have guaranteed second in the standings for Sykes. Rea gave it his all but on the final lap having realised that he had no answers to Davies’ incredible pace, a magnanimous gesture from Rea saw him hand over second place to Sykes.

Their fractious relationship has been clear for all to see in recent years but for the good of his team, Rea conceded the position to Sykes and guaranteed a Kawasaki one-two in the championship. The team confirmed there were no team orders and Rea said afterwards that it was a gesture of his respect for the team. But it was also a sign of the respect that he has for his teammate.

For Sykes the result meant he achieved his goal of second in the standings and while the former champion gave it his all this year, he was sporting in his assessment of Rea's campaign in the aftermath of the season. It would have been easy for Kawasaki to impose team orders on their riders, but it was somewhat more honourable to see Rea make the decision himself.