Jonathan Rea 99 not out as World Superbike champion-elect wins again at Magny-Cours to put champagne on ice

As he did in Saturday’s opening race, the Kawasaki rider controlled the Superpole race from the front in France as he beat team-mate Alex Lowes, while Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha) held off a determined attack from Ducati’s Scott Redding on the last lap to seize the final podium place.

Rea now holds a 71-point advantage over Redding going into this afternoon’s second race (13:00 BST), when a podium finish would be enough for the Ulsterman to ensure he is crowned world champion for a record sixth successive year.

The 33-year-old marked his 300th race start in the best fashion possible as he breezed to his 11th win of the 2020 season at Magny-Cours, where Rea has put the championship to bed in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Rea said: “It’s 300? I didn’t know and it makes me feel a bit old now but it was a nice race because Alex [Lowes] was keeping me honest and I had to concentrate to the max.

“We made a small set-up change from yesterday and I feel like it really helped me, especially on the last laps with tyre drop.

“Let’s see what happens in the afternoon because we never know what conditions we are going to get here. We will keep an eye on the weather and get ready to race again.”

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Ducati) and Frenchman Loris Baz (Ten Kate Yamaha) completed the top six in the 10-lap Superpole race.

Eugene Laverty, who was wiped out of Saturday’s race at the first corner after qualifying on pole, earned a point in 15th place for BMW Motorrad.

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