Defending Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) rebounded from a disappointing Race 1 on Saturday to claim a win in the Tissot Superpole Race and second in Race 2 for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship opening round. Despite not scoring in Race 1, he ended the weekend fourth in the standings and was pleased he did not lose too many points following the retirement.

Rea finished just 0.037s behind Kawasaki teammate Alex Lowes as the pair battled it out for the win in Race 2. Rea had tried to make a move at the final corner on the final lap, but Lowes was able to hold on to claim his first Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK win and his second WorldSBK career win.

After the race, Rea commented: “I had a few plans, but I really expected somebody to come through. Alex looked like he had something left yesterday in the race, he was much more competitive than the Yamaha and Ducati at the end when I watched the race back, also Scott [Redding] had a good pace, so I expected those guys to be there. Anyway, I was at the front and I was trying to stay at the front at the slowest possible speed to keep my tyre. But the rest were just watching, it is what it is. It’s kind of a strategy race. Unfortunately, you see a really fast race in Superpole, this one was more of a tactic race. It didn’t work out for me this time, but I was right there at the finish line, it’s positive like I say. We did a Kawasaki 1-2 which is great for the team, and I didn’t lose too many points this weekend after yesterday, so we managed to regroup a little bit today.”

The reigning Champion’s response to not scoring any points in Race 1 is positive for both Rea and the team, and he’s also in the knowledge that he has a bike that can win races having won two of three races Down Under. With the next round just two weeks away, Rea won’t have to wait long to see whether he can go one better in the two full-distance races.

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