World Superbikes: Jonathan Rea wins both races at Imola

Jonathan Rea is yet to finish outside the first two positions in any race this year

Jonathan Rea continued his dominance of the World Superbike series by winning both races at Imola, repeating his double success at the circuit in 2014.

The Northern Irishman came home ahead of Kawasaki team-mate Tom Sykes in race one, which was reduced to a six-lap sprint after the event was red-flagged.

Rea saw off Sykes again in race two to make it four wins in a row in the championship and eight from 10 starts.

The 28-year-old leads nearest rival Leon Haslam by 87 points in the series.

Rea boasts 240 points from a possible 250 available, with Haslam on 153, fellow Englishman Tom Sykes on 128 and Welsh rider Chaz Davies on 128.

Haslam was fourth on his Aprilia in Sunday's first race in Italy and crashed out in race two, suffering a suspected cracked rib.

Ducati rider Davies failed to finish both races because of mechanical problems and will hope for better at the next round at Donington Park on 24 May.

Rea finished less than half a second ahead of Sykes in race one, but enjoyed a 4.3-second advantage over the Yorkshireman thanks to a commanding display in race two.

The opening outing of the day had to be restarted and run over a shortened distance after David Salom fell off 11 laps into the first start.

Former World Superbike champion Sykes made the initial running in the restarted race but missed a gear on lap two, allowing Rea to assume control at the front.

"I thought the six-lap race might favour my rivals but I pushed to the maximum and Tom made a mistake which allowed me to take my chance and pull away," said Rea, following his first win.

Italian Ducati rider Davide Giugliano was third in race one after starting from pole position, with Aprilia rider Jordi Torres occupying the final podium place in race two.

Rea, who now boasts 23 career World Superbike victories and 52 podiums from 150 starts, has yet to finish outside the top two positions in any race this season.

"Kawasaki have given me a great bike to do the job and I'm just enjoying the moment," said Rea, who won both races at Imola on a Honda last year.