World Superbikes: Jonathan Rea wins Superpole race and is second in race two

Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki team-mate Alex Lowes battle it out in Australia

Reigning World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea bounced back from an opening-race retirement with a win and a second place in Australia.

Rea, 33, won Sunday's opening Superpole race after a last-corner overtake on Yamaha's Toprak Razgatlioglu.

He then came home behind Kawasaki team-mate Alex Lowes in race two after a last-lap battle in which the Englishman prevailed at Phillip Island.

The Northern Irishman is fourth in the standings, 19 points off leader Lowes.

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After uncharacteristically crashing out of Saturday's race one, in which the five-time WSBK champion suffered a burn to his leg, Rea jumped from third to first off the line in the 10-lap Superpole sprint race.

Rea survived contact with Ducati debutant Scott Redding as the duo, along with race one winner Razgatlioglu, engaged in a titanic battle for the lead.

Turkish rider Razgatlioglu claimed the lead on the final lap but a wobble on the final corner allowed Rea to sneak through and win the drag to the chequered flag by just 0.067 seconds.

Northern Ireland's Eugene Laverty, who joined BMW for the new season, failed to start either of Sunday's races after suffering a concussion in a warm-up crash.

It is a disappointing start to Laverty's season after the 33-year-old missed four rounds of the 2019 season after fracturing both wrists in a heavy crash at Imola in May.

Lowes providing Kawasaki battle

Rea's Superpole victory meant the 33-year-old started race two from pole position, but he was jumped by new team-mate Lowes into turn one, with Yamaha's Michael van der Mark also making his move.

However, it wasn't long before Rea hit the front and headed a 10-rider train in one of the most competitive World Superbike races in recent memory.

Frenchman Loris Baz exchanged the lead with Rea on several occasions around the Australian circuit before eventually fading to eighth place.

Lowes, who moved to Kawasaki from Yamaha before the new season, looks to set provide a firm challenge to Rea, who has been relatively untouched by team-mates since joining the manufacturer in 2015.

The 29-year-old passed Rea for the lead with three laps to go, and despite a brief response, Lowes made a move stick going into turn one on the final circuit.

Race two in Australia produced an all-British podium as Scott Redding finished behind Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes

Rea tried to replicate the last-corner pass that had brought him Superpole success earlier in the day, but Lowes stood firm and won the sprint to the line by just 0.037 seconds to take his first victory since 2018.

Redding was an impressive third to make it an all-British podium in race two, and Razgatlioglu retired from the race with three laps after contact with Baz forced the 23-year-old out of the race.

Welshman Chaz Davies finished fifth on his Ducati ahead of Honda's Alvaro Bautista and Chilean debutant Maximilian Scheib.

Although Lowes holds a 19-point advantage at the top of the championship standings, Rea will not panic knowing he overturned a 67-point deficit last season after a crushing display in the second half of the season.

'It's been a weekend of mixed emotions'

"I felt great after the test but then we had a bit of a curveball on Friday and I didn't feel great with the bike," reflected Rea after the opening weekend of the season.

"Today was more positive. Winning the Superpole race was really nice and in the second race I gave it everything I had.

"We leave here in much better shape that we did last year. The lead of the championship isn't a million miles away and the leader isn't dominant fashion like Alvaro Bautista last year.

"So we'll just keep chipping away and now I'm feeling good with the bike ahead of Qatar."