World Superbikes: Rea second behind Bautista in Barcelona opener

Alvaro Bautista took his ninth win of the season from runner-up Jonathan Rea

Jonathan Rea worked his way through the field to finish second behind dominant winner Alvaro Bautista in race one of the Catlaunya World Superbike round.

Bautista led throughout to claim his ninth race win of the season and extend his championship lead to 44 points.

Rea was back in seventh in the early stages but went on a charge to end up runner-up, with Garrett Gerloff third.

Defending champion Toprak Razgatlioglu lay second early on but dropped back and had to settle for fifth position.

Ducati rider Michael Ruben Rinaldi was fourth, with Spaniard Iker Lecuona coming home sixth after occupying pole position thanks to setting the fastest speed in Superpole qualifying.

Italian Bautista's eventual winning margin over Kawasaki-mounted Rea was a very comfortable 8.6 seconds.

The Superpole sprint race will take place at 10:00 BST in Barcelona on Sunday, followed by Race Two at 13:00 BST.