Redding powers to dominant win as Rea fades

2020 WorldSBK Jerez - Race Results (2)

Scott Redding consolidated his lead at the head of the 2020 WorldSBK Championship standings with a runaway Race 2 victory in Jerez, while defending champion Jonathan Rea endured an uncustomary lacklustre afternoon.

Already a winner this weekend after securing his maiden WorldSBK win in Race 1, Redding quickly got the jump on Rea as the field entered the second lap with the Ducati rider nosing ahead into a lead he’d hold until the chequered flag.

With the Jerez heat seemingly playing its role in working both the tyres and the riders hard, no rider could live with Redding during the opening phase of the race. By contrast, Rea quickly lost touch as he fended off the hard charging Toprak Razgatlioglu – up from tenth after a lightning start = and Chaz Davies.

Davies eventually worked his way past the pair into second position by lap four and set off in chase of Redding but couldn’t make significant in-roads into the ex-MotoGP rider’s lead.

Redding went on to cross the line a full three seconds clear of his Aruba.it Ducati team-mate to complete a welcome 1-2 result for the Italian manufacturer, in turn swelling his advantage at the head of the overall standings to 24 points over Rea.

Indeed, it was a long afternoon for Rea, who appeared to struggle with the heat and faded as the race progressed, dropping back to sixth position by the chequered flag.

Instead, Razgatlioglu completed the podium for Yamaha, ahead of the impressive Michael Ruben Rinaldi, who put in a starring role with a storming ride up the order on the GOELEVEN Ducati to get the better of both official Kawasaki Racing riders.

Alex Lowes was another to get ahead of Rea for a minor boost at the end of a turbulent weekend, while Michael van der Mark was another to slip back as the race progressed en route to seventh position.

Alvaro Bautista led the Honda challenge in eighth place, with series returnee Marco Melandri and rookie Garrett Gerloff completing the top ten.

Tom Sykes slipped to 11th on a tough weekend for BMW, the former champion at least faring better than team-mate Eugene Laverty, who retired early on. Leon Haslam, Xavi Fores, Sandro Cortese and Leandro Mercado completed the points’ paying positions.

Meanwhile, there was disappointment for Loris Baz after he slid off at the final corner on lap seven, dropping him to an eventual 17th.