World Superbikes: Jonathan Rea first rider to win four titles in a row

Jonathan Rea became the first rider to win four consecutive World Superbike titles by taking victory in race one at Magny-Cours in France on Saturday.

Rea has an unassailable lead of 130 points over nearest rival Chaz Davies with five races left in the series.

The Northern Irishman, 31, has now won seven races in a row, 13 out of 21 races this season, and 67 in total.

Englishman Carl Fogarty won four championships in the 1990s but not in successive years.

Rea has won all his four titles as part of the Kawasaki Racing Team and his 18th rostrum finish of the season sees him equal Australian Troy Corser's all-time record of 130 podiums.

"There are no words. I've worked so hard for this - there have been lots of ups and downs along the way," said Rea.

"I wanted to make the race mine from the off and I feel incredible now. I'm living the dream but I feel the best is yet to come.

"I was just a kid from Northern Ireland with a dream but I have finally got here."

Record-breaking Rea

The County Antrim rider also won the championship at the French circuit in 2017 with two rounds remaining and will now travel to Argentina and Qatar with an unprecedented fourth global crown already in the bag.

Earlier this year Rea broke Fogarty's record of 59 race wins and he has already achieved four double successes in 2018, including at the three previous rounds in the USA, Italy and Portugal.

He has overcome a number of changes introduced by the organisers in recent years to create a more level playing field, including a reverse grid system for race two and new technical regulations.

Rea is now three race victories short of the tally he recorded last year but given his dominance in race one few would bet against him increasing his number of wins in race two on Sunday.

The Ulsterman overtook team-mate Tom Sykes on the second of 21 laps on Saturday and pulled away from the field to secure a comfortable three-second victory.

Sykes finished second, with Spaniard Xavi Fores third and Welshman Davies back in fifth on his Ducati.