World Superbikes: Rea third at Aragon as Rinaldi wins after Bautista crashes out
- Published
Jonathan Rea's only win this season came in the Czech Republic in July
Jonathan Rea was third in Race One at the World Superbike round in Aragon as Michael Ruben Rinaldi won after series leader Alvaro Bautista crashed twice.
Spaniard Bautista looked set for his 20th win of the season as he held a big lead before sliding off on lap six.
That left Rea leading from Toprak Razgatlioglu but they were soon joined by Rinaldi who moved ahead on lap 15.
Razgatlioglu held off Rea for second, with Bautista crashing on the last lap as he attempted to get into the points.
Turkish rider Razgatlioglu's second place cut defending champion Bautista's series lead to 37 points, with two more races taking place this weekend before the concluding rounds in Portugal and Spain.
Rinaldi's win was the first time since 2021 that a rider apart from Bautista, Razgatlioglu and Rea had earned a victory in the championship.
The Italian has struggled to compete with Ducati team-mate Bautista and as a result has lost his ride for next season.
Rea started Race One on pole but was passed by Bautista on the first corner and while the Northern Irishman attempted valiantly to regain the lead, the Spaniard soon pulled clear and appeared in control as he led by more than 1.5 seconds by the start of the sixth lap.
Incredibly, the 38-year-old then slid off and while he fought his way into a points finish of 14th place by the final lap after remounting, he found himself in the gravel once more to complete his miserable afternoon.
Rea remains third in the championship but his hopes of a seventh world title have long been extinguished and he is now 161 points behind Bautista.
The Northern Irishman is moving to Yamaha at the end of this season to fill the spot left vacant by Razgatlioglu's switch to the BMW team.
Rea's sole victory this season came in Race One in the Czech Republic in July.
World Superbike standings
1 Alvaro Bautista (Spa, Ducati) 467 points
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Tur, Yamaha) 430
3 Jonathan Rea (GBR, Kawasaki) 306
4 Andrea Locatelli (Ita, Yamaha) 269
5 Axel Bassani (Ita, Ducati) 226
6 Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Ita, Ducati) 192