Rea closes in on the leader

After having once again distinguished himself in the Superpole, setting the fastest time in qualifying, Jonathan Rea showed his worth in the first race of the British weekend by placing second behind Toprak Razgatlioglu. With team-mate Alex Lowes third at the chequered flag, Jonathan Rea took Kawasaki's 500th Superbike World Championship podium. The six-time World Champion followed that up the next day with a second place in the Sprint race and a third place in the final race of the weekend. With Alvaro Bautista crashing out on Saturday afternoon, Rea reduces his deficit to the overall leader to just 17 points. “The weekend was positive despite the frustration of not getting the win," commented the Brit after the final race.

“Toprak is really strong at this track and we are still struggling when the conditions are very hot like they were today. In the last race my brakes were overheating and I had to adapt my pace to preserve them. We need to keep working to improve the bike in these conditions." Following his podium finish on Saturday, Alex Lowes was fifth in the Sprint race before finishing sixth in the final race. “I'm disappointed that I only got one podium," admitted the Kawasaki rider. “Unfortunately the weather was warmer on Sunday and I didn't get the good feeling I had the day before with my front end. The tyre was sliding and I lacked confidence going into corners."