Jonathan Rea wins Magny-Cours opener to edge closer to sixth straight World Superbike title
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Jonathan Rea and his rivals had to battle in wet conditions in Magny-Cours
Jonathan Rea edged closer to a sixth straight World Superbike title as he won Race One in wet conditions at the penultimate Magny-Cours round.
Rea's task was made easier after as Tom Sykes and BMW team-mate Eugene Laverty slid off at the first corner after contact from US rider Garrett Gerloff.
Gerloff then crashed while lying third on lap six which left France's Loris Baz as Rea's main challenger.
However, the Northern Irishman held off Baz as England's Alex Lowes took third.
Rea now leads his closest title pursuer Ducati's English rider Scott Redding by 65 points with a maximum of 99 remaining and the Kawasaki star could secure his sixth straight title in Sunday's two races in France, which could bring up his tally of World Superbike race wins to 100.
Redding secured fifth place as he moved up two places late on the final lap as Leon Haslam crashed out, with Redding also able to move ahead of Toprak Razgatlıoglu during the incident.
Rea has now earned seven wins at the French circuit and has clinched his past three world titles at the venue.
"I felt pretty good out there," Rea told Eurosport as he once again showed himself to be a master of composure despite the soaking conditions.
"Loris and Alex and Garrett were in the group and the pace was incredible.
"Every time I saw my dashboard and the lap time I thought I was going to make a gap but they were right there. It was a really fun race.
"Loris pushed me until he made a slight mistake with I think five laps to go."
Earlier, Rea's compatriot Laverty had secured pole for BMW ahead of team-mate Sykes but the team's joy quickly turned to huge disappointment after the duo's first corner exit as Gerloff brought the Englishman down, whose slide in turn ended the Northern Irishman's race.
It was another disappointment for Laverty in the wake of him losing the BMW seat for 2021 after Sykes and Michael Van Der Mark were confirmed as the team's riders for next season.