World Superbike

Rea Secures Fourth Straight WorldSBK Title

1 Mins read
Rea marked the achievement with an entertaining 'Four of a Kind' celebration (Photo Credit: Kawasaki)
Rea marked the achievement with an entertaining 'Four of a Kind' celebration (Photo Credit: Kawasaki)

Jonathan Rea eased to his seventh consecutive victory in race one at Magny Cours on Saturday, securing an unprecedented fourth straight World Superbike title. The Ulsterman led a dominant Kawasaki 1-2 ahead of team-mate Tom Sykes, ensuring he has an unassailable 130-point lead over Chaz Davies with just five races remaining.

Kawasaki had enjoyed a comfortable advantage over the competition on Friday and they proved too strong during Superpole as Sykes grabbed his 47th career pole, denying Rea who claimed he had ridden one of the best laps of his life to take provisional pole. The Yorkshireman took the holeshot once the opening race got underway but he wouldn’t lead for long.

The championship leader hit the front on lap two with a sensational move through Estoril, scything up the inside of Sykes, and Rea gradually eased away to take his 13th victory of the season, while Sykes’ second place confirmed a historic fourth consecutive title for the 31-year-old, the first time that achievement had been reached in WorldSBK history.

Davies had shown strong pace in the closing stages to join the podium battle between Xavi Fores and Lorenzo Savadori but the Spaniard would ultimately hang on for Barni Ducati, securing his first rostrum since Aragon in April. Savadori’s wait for a WorldSBK podium goes on but fourth did earn him pole position for race two on Sunday, while Davies will go in search of a consolation win from second on the grid after finishing fifth.

Marco Melandri recovered from a disastrous start to the weekend to take sixth ahead of Michael van der Mark’s PATA Yamaha while Toprak Razgatlioglu edged out Eugene Laverty and home favourite Loris Baz to finish eighth.

 

WorldSBK 2018: Acerbis French Round: Race One

[table id=3476 /]

Avatar photo
5101 posts

About author
MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and WorldSBK writer for The Checkered Flag. Contact: [email protected]
Articles
Related posts
DakarWorld Superbike

Kove Moto: "The journey to Dakar will not cease, and the footsteps of WorldSBK will continue"

2 Mins read
Despite Zhang Xue’s resignation as CEO, Kove Moto intends to maintain his blueprint of racing in the Dakar Rally and Supersport 300 World Championship en route to World Superbike.
DakarWorld Superbike

Zhang Xue steps down as Kove CEO

2 Mins read
Zhang Xue, behind Kove Moto becoming the first Chinese bike effort at the Dakar Rally, has resigned as company CEO, though he still holds a stake and remains on good terms.
World Superbike

Jonathan Rea tops day one in Jerez

2 Mins read
Jonathan Rea tops day one in Jerez.