Rea denies Davies again in Phillip Island WSBK

Jonathan Rea has swept the opening round of the World Superbikes Championship after yet another frenetic battle at Phillip Island.

Rea figured at the front for much of the 22-lap race despite starting ninth, eventually pipping Chaz Davies by 0.03s after beating his British compatriot by only 0.04s the day before.

Xavi Fores won the start but led only as far as the Turn 4 Hairpin before running wide and letting Alex Lowes (factory Yamaha) and Eugene Laverty (factory-supported Aprilia) past.

The Barni Racing Ducati rider regained the lead on the third lap as Lowes was shuffled back by Fores, Laverty, and Rea to fourth.

Rea, who had made light work of his ninth place starting berth under the new Race 2 grid format, took the lead off Fores three laps later.

Davies then took advantage of a slight Fores error to move into second on Lap 7.

The factory Ducati rider passed Rea’s factory Kawasaki on Lap 9 and enjoyed a relatively long five-lap spell at the front.

That was until Rea and Melandri slipstreamed past in one fell swoop, and the latter led for the first time a lap later on Lap 15.

The slingshot move into Doohan Corner was popular again, Rea regaining the lead there on Lap 20 and Davies on Lap 21.

However, Rea turned the tables at the same corner on the final lap and held on for a perfect start to his title defence, having also taken pole the day prior.

Melandri made it two factory Ducatis on the podium after passing Lowes on the final lap.

Fores faded to fifth, while Australian Josh Brookes bounced back from a Saturday DNF to finish 12th.

Ant West finished on the final step of the podium in an incident-packed World Supersport race.

The Yamaha rider started from 21st but scythed his way through the field, while Robbie Rolfo beat Lucas Mahias in a photo finish.

Of the other Australians, Aiden Wagner and Lachlan Epis both realised personal best results in seventh and tenth, respectively.

The World Superbikes Championship continues in Buriram, Thailand from March 10 to 12.

Race 2: Results

Pos	Rider	Nationality	Team	Bike	Laps	Gap
1	J. REA	GBR	Kawasaki Racing Team	Kawasaki ZX-10R	22	33’52.785
2	C. DAVIES	GBR	Aruba.it Racing – Ducati	Ducati Panigale R	22	0.025
3	M. MELANDRI	ITA	Aruba.it Racing – Ducati	Ducati Panigale R	22	0.249
4	A. LOWES	GBR	Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team	Yamaha YZF R1	22	0.956
5	X. FORÉS	ESP	BARNI Racing Team	Ducati Panigale R	22	2.320
6	T. SYKES	GBR	Kawasaki Racing Team	Kawasaki ZX-10R	22	4.781
7	M. VAN DER MARK	NED	Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team	Yamaha YZF R1	22	7.307
8	L. CAMIER	GBR	MV Agusta Reparto Corse	MV Agusta 1000 F4	22	9.756
9	L. SAVADORI	ITA	Milwaukee Aprilia	Aprilia RSV4 RF	22	11.135
10	E. LAVERTY	IRL	Milwaukee Aprilia	Aprilia RSV4 RF	22	20.123
11	A. DE ANGELIS	RSM	Pedercini Racing SC-Project	Kawasaki ZX-10R	22	25.799
12	J. BROOKES	AUS	ERMotorsport-EliteRoads.com.au	Yamaha YZF R1	22	25.879
13	M. REITERBERGER	GER	Althea BMW Racing Team	BMW S 1000 RR	22	25.917
14	R. RAMOS	ESP	Team Kawasaki Go Eleven	Kawasaki ZX-10R	22	26.292
15	S. BRADL	GER	Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team	Honda CBR1000RR	22	28.440
16	R. KRUMMENACHER	SUI	Kawasaki Puccetti Racing	Kawasaki ZX-10R	22	33.679
17	O. JEZEK	CZE	Grillini Racing Team	Kawasaki ZX-10R	22	1’13.561
DNF	N. HAYDEN	USA	Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team	Honda CBR1000RR	8	14 Laps
DNF	A. BADOVINI	ITA	Grillini Racing Team	Kawasaki ZX-10R	7	15 Laps
DNF	R. RUSSO	ITA	Guandalini Racing	Yamaha YZF R1	2	20 Laps
DNF	J. TORRES	ESP	Althea BMW Racing Team	BMW S 1000 RR	0

Championship points

Pos	Rider	Nationality	Points
1	JONATHAN REA	GBR	50
2	CHAZ DAVIES	GBR	40
3	TOM SYKES	GBR	26
4	ALEX LOWES	GBR	26
5	XAVI FORÉS	ESP	21
6	LEON CAMIER	GBR	19
7	MARCO MELANDRI	ITA	16
8	MICHAEL VAN DER MARK	NED	16
9	EUGENE LAVERTY	IRL	14
10	JORDI TORRES	ESP	9
11	LORENZO SAVADORI	ITA	7
12	ALEX DE ANGELIS	RSM	7
13	MARKUS REITERBERGER	GER	7
14	RANDY KRUMMENACHER	SUI	6
15	NICKY HAYDEN	USA	5
16	ROMÁN RAMOS	ESP	5
17	JOSHUA BROOKES	AUS	4
18	STEFAN BRADL	GER	2