World Superbikes: Jonathan Rea second as champion Bautista wins Phillip Island opener

Jonathan Rea had to settle for second place in the Phillip Island opener behind defending champion Alvaro BautistaInpho

Jonathan Rea led by 1.6 seconds after four laps but Alvaro Bautista took the lead on lap 10 and pulled away to win by 3.471 seconds in the wet conditions

Jonathan Rea finished second in race one behind champion Alvaro Bautista as the World Superbikes season got under way in Phillip Island, Australia.

Northern Irishman Rea was 1.6 seconds clear after four laps in wet conditions but the Spaniard moved ahead by lap 10 and went on to win by 3.471 seconds.

Turkey's 2021 champion Toprak Razgatlioglu completed the podium positions, 6.168 seconds off the pace.

Rea's Kawasaki team-mate Alex Lowes crashed out on lap eight when fourth.

That helped Razgatlioglu's Yamaha team-mate, Italian Andrea Locatelli, secure fourth place with his compatriot Axel Bassani and another Spaniard Iker Lecuona completing the top six.

BMW's Michael van der Mark crashed out on lap two while former champion Tom Sykes, who was making his return to the series, was also among the retirements.

Ducati rider Bautista, 38, initially led the riders off the grid but Rea took the lead on the turn one.

But after pushing into a 1.6-second lead, Rea, 36, then began to be reeled in by the defending champion.

The champion eventually moved ahead on lap 10 and despite nearly sliding off at the same part of the circuit where Van der Mark had come to grief, he regrouped to take the win.

Amid the slippery conditions, Rea had a nervous moment late on which saw him lose some time to Bautista.

Rea, who won sixth successive titles between 2015 and 2020, finished third in the series last year, 99 points adrift of Bautista and 27 behind Razgatlioglu.

Speaking before Saturday's race, Rea said that he expected to again face a straight-line speed disadvantage compared with his main rivals.

The iconic Phillip Island circuit hosted the final round of last year's championship but has returned to its traditional place as the opening round on the calendar for the first time since 2020.

The action will continue on Sunday with the 10-lap superpole race before race two gets under way.

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