World Superbikes: Series rookie Scott Redding completes win double at Jerez

Former MotoGP rider and British Superbike champion Redding made it a double at Jerez by winning race two

World Superbike Championship rookie Scott Redding completed a win double in the two feature races at Jerez in Spain by triumphing in race two on Sunday.

The English rider overhauled early leader Jonathan Rea and came home 2.4 seconds ahead of Welshman Chaz Davies, with Toprak Razgatlioglu in third.

After winning Sunday's Superpole sprint opener, reigning champion Rea could only manage sixth in race two.

Redding enjoys a 24-point lead over Rea at the top of the series standings.

The Ducati rider formerly competed in MotoGP and last year won the British Superbike Championship, but now looks set to be a major challenger to Rea's dominance in World Superbikes.

Five-time champion Rea was first off the line in Sunday's main race but Redding hit the front on the second lap.

While the series debutant pulled away at the front, the Northern Irishman dropped down the field, suffering rear tyre tyre problems.

Davies ultimately made it a 1-2 for Ducati, their first since 2012, by taking the runner-up spot, while Turkish rider Razgatlioglu battled his way through the pack from 10th place on the grid to claim the final podium position on his Yamaha.

Italian Michael Rinaldi was an excellent fourth, with England's Alex Lowes holding off the challenge of Kawasaki team-mate Rea to finish fifth.

Rea secured a dominant lights-to-flag victory in Sunday's Superpole race

Earlier in the day, Rea took his second win of the season in the 10-lap Superpole sprint race, having also taken victory in the equivalent event at the opening round at Phillip Island five months ago.

The 33-year-old led from start to finish at the Spanish track to claim the 90th victory of his World Superbike career and his third at Jerez, having secured a double in 2017.

The Northern Irishman made a superb start from third place on the grid and enjoyed an advantage of 0.522 seconds over pole sitter Redding by the end of the race.

His success brought an end to the sequence of four different race winners in the first four races of the season, the first time that had occurred since 2004.

Saturday's race winner Redding was second and Dutchman Michael van der Mark third.

Loris Baz, Davies and Tom Sykes made up the top six leaderboard, with Lowes seventh and Irish rider Eugene Laverty 13th.

With the championship back on track after a five-month break because of the coronavirus pandemic, seven more rounds, with 21 races, are planned to complete the series.

Next stop is the Portuguese round at Portimao next weekend, followed by three more rounds at Spanish circuits.