World Superbikes: Jonathan Rea dedicates second win to Jason Dupasquier
- Published
Six-time champion Jonathan Rea won his second World Superbike race of the weekend at Estoril, Portugal, after title rival Scott Redding crashed out.
Redding slid off his bike on lap seven moments after Kawasaki rider Rea had overtaken the Ducati for the lead.
Rea, who also won the Superpole race earlier on Sunday, dedicated both victories to Jason Dupasquier.
The Swiss Moto3 rider, who was 19, died on Sunday after a crash at Mugello, in Italy, the previous day.
"It's been a great weekend for me but there's a real sour taste in my mouth after the news earlier about Jason," said Rea.
"It's terrible. I want to dedicate that to him and his family. I hope it gives them strength at this time."
In Sunday's race, Wales' Chaz Davies finished second ahead of Yamaha's Toprak Razgatlioglu.
Northern Irishman Rea leads Razgatlioglu by 35 points in the standings, with Redding one point further back.
Rea said: "I was catching Scott quite quickly. I plotted a move at turn one, he came back and the next thing I know he is out.
"I'm sorry for him because that was a nice little battle for those few corners. I really didn't expect to win here."
Action-packed race in Portugal
In an action-packed opening lap, Redding led off the line as Turkish rider Razgatlioglu jumped the start from second.
Rea, who dropped to third from pole, was soon down to sixth following a robust move by Michael Ruben Rinaldi forced the Kawasaki rider wide and allowed Northern Ireland's Eugene Laverty into fourth.
However Rea soon got past his compatriot and there was drama ahead as Yamaha's Garrret Gerloff missed his breaking point and wiped out Rinaldi from second place.
With Rea up to third, soon second when Razgatlioglu was handed two long-lap penalties for his misdemeanour at the start, Rea began closing the two-second hap to Redding.
He made his first attack with seven laps to go, passing Redding down the main straight and Redding tried to hit back, he lost the front end at turn four and slid into the gravel trap to damage his championship challenge.
Davies avoided the incidents ahead to come home in a strong second place, with Razgatlioglu finishing third after a strong recovery.
Kawasaki's Alex Lowes was fourth ahead of Yamaha's Locatelli and BMW's Michael van der Mark.
Laverty faded as the race went on and he finished in ninth position. Redding remounted to finish in 14th.
World Superbike Championship standings | ||
---|---|---|
Jonathan Rea (GB) | Kawasaki | 110 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Tur) | Yamaha | 75 |
Scott Redding (GB) | Ducati | 74 |
Alex Lowes (GB) | Kawasaki | 62 |
Chaz Davies (GB) | Ducati | 48 |
Garrett Gerloff (USA) | Yamaha | 42 |