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Australia

Imola WSBK: Rea draws level with Fogarty's win tally

Jonathan Rea triumphed in a hard battle with Chaz Davies to equal the all-time World Superbike win record belonging to Carl Fogarty after taking his 59th victory in race two at Imola.

Podium: race winner Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing, second place Chaz Davies, Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team, third place Tom Sykes, Kawasaki Racing

Podium: race winner Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing, second place Chaz Davies, Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team, third place Tom Sykes, Kawasaki Racing

Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing
Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing
Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing
Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing, Tom Sykes, Kawasaki Racing
Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing
Chaz Davies, Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team, Michael Ruben Rinaldi, Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team
Chaz Davies, Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team, Michael van der Mark, Pata Yamaha
Eugene Laverty, Milwaukee Aprilia, Leon Haslam, Kawasaki

Michael Ruben Rinaldi took the holeshot on the run down onto Tamburello ahead of Ducati stablemate and poleman Davies, while Rea carved past Kawasaki teammate Tom Sykes and Aprilia's Lorenzo Savadori into the Variante Alta to take sixth.

Rea continued his charge from ninth on the grid by taking fifth away from Marco Melandri at the Variante Alta on the following lap, and moved ahead of Yamaha's Michael van der Mark on lap three for fourth.

Davies carved past Rinaldi into the final chicane at the end of the third tour, with Rea moving ahead of Xavi Fores and Rinaldi in quick succession on lap four to begin his assault on the lead.

Rea shadowed Davies for the next 10 laps, with the Northern Irishman making his first attempt at taking the lead on lap 11 at Tamburello.

Davies repelled the Kawasaki rider, and struck back hard once again at the Tosa hairpin on the following lap when Rea launched a daring raid for the lead.

Rea eventually made a move stick into the Variante Alta on lap 14 and immediately built up an advantage of well over a second, which he continued to extend over the remaining laps.

Four seconds clear of Davies on the final lap, Rea eased to his fifth win of the year and a new record of 17 career double victories, while also opening up his championship lead to 47 points over second-placed Davies.

Teammate Sykes got the better of Fores in the closing stages to claim third, while Jordi Torres trailed the Barni rider home to complete the top five. 

Alex Lowes held off Rinaldi in the closings stages for sixth, while Toprak Razgatlioglu, Eugene Laverty and Leandro Mercado rounded out the top 10.

Razgatlioglu's teammate Leon Haslam had been set for points, but a crash on the penultimate lap ended his hopes, and the British Superbike wildcard crossed the line in 16th.

Van der Mark and Melandri also failed to make the finish, after the Yamaha rider collided with Melandri at Rivazza on lap nine while the pair were debating fifth.

The incident has been placed under investigation. Lorenzo Savadori, wildcard Vladimir Leonov and Honda's Jake Gagne joined van der Mark and Melandri on the sidelines.

Race results:

Pos.#RiderBikeTime/Gap
1 1 united_kingdom Jonathan Rea  Kawasaki 34'03.420
2 7 united_kingdom Chaz Davies  Ducati 4.019
3 66 united_kingdom Tom Sykes  Kawasaki 9.530
4 12 spain Xavi Fores  Ducati 14.159
5 81 spain Jordi Torres  MV Agusta 15.479
6 22 united_kingdom Alex Lowes  Yamaha 16.162
7 21 italy  Michael Ruben Rinaldi  Ducati 17.197
8 54 turkey Toprak Razgatlioglu  Kawasaki 17.554
9 50 ireland Eugene Laverty  Aprilia 22.331
10 36 argentina Leandro Mercado  Kawasaki 30.176
11 76 france Loris Baz  BMW 30.267
12 40 spain Roman Ramos  Kawasaki 40.061
13 68 colombia Yonny Hernandez  Kawasaki 51.973
14 99 united_states PJ Jacobsen  Honda 55.268
15 37 czech_republic Ondrej Jezek  Yamaha 1'09.455
16 91 united_kingdom Leon Haslam  Kawasaki 1'43.833
Ret 33 italy Marco Melandri  Ducati 11 laps
Ret  60 netherlands Michael van der Mark  Yamaha 11 laps
Ret  5 russia Vladimir Leonov  Kawasaki 13 laps
Ret  32 italy Lorenzo Savadori  Aprilia 15 laps
Ret  45 united_states Jake Gagne  Honda 15 laps

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