Jonathan Rea was back on top at the Imola WorldSBK meeting, the fifth round of the 2019 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. The Ulsterman blitzed the opposition in Race 1 on Saturday before taking a superb win in the Tissot Superpole Race, ahead of Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati).

Having taken the lead at the end of the opening lap in the Tissot Superpole Race, thanks to a mistake from Chaz Davies, Rea never looked back and was never challenged by anyone else at the front. Having looked dominant from the start of the weekend, the results are fruit of hard work off track for the defending four-time WorldSBK champion.

Reviewing his second Imola weekend, Rea said: “It was a very difficult decision to cancel the race; I am sure there are many fans here, but race direction made the decision and we all support that.”

Speaking about whether he can start think about the championship again, Rea denied, saying: “To be honest, no, not really right now. We know how unique a circuit Imola is, last year I was very strong here and the situation this weekend was in our favour, we started very well in FP1 and I found a good momentum. Let’s see what Jerez brings, I am definitely optimistic because I felt a little bit more confident with the bike.”

Rea reduces the gap to championship leader Alvaro Bautista to 43 points now, with the momentum firmly in the green corner.

Will Rea continue to win at Jerez? Find out with the WorldSBK VideoPass!