Rea takes full advantage of Bautista slip with frantic victory

Full Misano World Superbike race two results

Jonathan Rea has slashed Alvaro Bautista’s World Superbike championship lead to 16 points with his second victory of the weekend at Misano as the championship leader crashed early on.

The reigning World Superbike champion, looking to recover after slipping off himself in the Superpole sprint race which Bautista won, was handed a golden opportunity when the Aruba.it racing Ducati rider low-sided off while leading on the second lap at Turn 4.

With the Spaniard scampering to recover his Ducati V4 R, re-joining in last place and over 40-seconds back on the leaders, Rea set about hunting down Kawasaki team-mate Leon Haslam with Puccetti Kawasaki’s Toprak Razgatlioglu also in the front group.

After the Turkish rider charged into the lead at the start of Lap 5, Rea pushed Haslam into third place as he chased after the Puccetti rider.

Rea duly followed Razgatlioglu as the pair burst clear of Haslam and the chasing pack, with the four-time world champion making his move into the lead for the first time with three laps to go diving up the inside at Turn 1.

But Razgatlioglu demonstrated his high billing by sticking to the rear wheel of Rea over the closing laps, diving deep up the inside at Turn 4 for the lead on the final lap, but with the Turkish rider drifting wide Rea powered back ahead to take a vital victory and the 75^th win of his World Superbike career.

While the wait for a maiden World Superbike win goes on for Razgatlioglu, a stellar second place caps another impressive weekend for the Turkish star ahead of Haslam who completed an all-Kawasaki podium.

Alex Lowes secured fourth place for Pata Yamaha after Marco Melandri slid off at two-third race distance having opted for the sprint race rear tyre compound.

That saw Michael Ruben Rinaldi promoted to fifth place as top Ducati for Barni Racing ahead of Tom Sykes on the BMW and Chaz Davies on the Aruba.it Racing Ducati.

Michele Pirro completed his Misano wildcard in eighth place with Barni Ducati ahead of Lorenzo Zanetti on the Team Goeleven Ducati who is standing in for the injured Eugene Laverty.

Jordi Torres rounded out the top 10 for Pedercini Kawasaki ahead of BMW’s Markus Reiterberger and Ten Kate Racing Yamaha’s Loris Baz.

Wildcard Samuele Cavalieri on the Motocorsa Racing Ducati kept clear of Bautista on the final lap to see the Spanish rider cross the line in 14^th place to provide a small damage limitation to his points lead.

Sandro Cortese, another faller in race two, grabbed the final point position in 15^th place for GRT Yamaha ahead of team-mate Marco Meladndri and Moriwaki Althea Honda’s Ryuichi Kiyonari.

Leandro Mercado, Yuki Takahashi and Alessandro Delbianco all failed to finish.