Superbikes | Qatar Round, Tissot-Superpole Race: Jonathan Rea wins again

The last Tissot Superpole Race of the 2019 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship ends once again in the light of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who gets his 16th victory this season and can aim for the record of 17 which already belongs to him.

As in Race 1, there was no shortage of excitement even before the start with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) suffering technical problems during the warm-up lap. He returned to the pits but did not return to the track, thus saying goodbye to his last hopes of third place in the final classification.

Jonathan Rea once again got off to an excellent start and took the lead into Turn 1, with Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) behind him followed by Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). Excellent start also for Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) who started from the third row and moved up to fourth position ahead of Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK).

During the second lap Rea pulled ahead while Alvaro Bautista overtook Leon Haslam on the straight before also overtaking Alex Lowes at turn 12. Bautista took second place but didn't know how to catch Rea. Two laps later, Bautista's teammate Chaz Davies was in sixth place ahead of Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) and Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha).

The fight for the third step of the podium soon began, with Leon Haslam putting pressure on Alex Lowes. Haslam wanted to get behind the rider who will take his place in the KRT team next season and was six tenths faster than Lowes. Van der Mark in fifth place was targeted by Chaz Davies, with the Welshman overtaking the Dutchman on the final straight with four laps to go. Van der Mark also had to watch out for Loris Baz's return from behind.

Rea controlled and won ahead of Bautista, preceding him by more than three seconds, while in the fight for third place, Alex Lowes prevailed ahead of Leon Haslam. Chaz Davies finished fifth after starting 12th.

Sixth came Michael van der Mark who fought very hard to beat Loris Baz on the last lap. The Frenchman will open the third row in Race 2 ahead of Sandro Cortese and Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven) who closed the points after an intense battle with Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) and Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura).

Below are the top six riders after the Tissot Superpole Race:

1.) Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
2.) Álvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
3.) Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team)
4.) Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
5.) Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
6.) Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team)