Jonathan Rea claims runner-up spot in wet at Phillip Island as World Superbike Championship blasts off

The six-time champion qualified fourth fastest on row two and moved into the lead in the early stages ahead of Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati), Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha).

Rea pulled a slight advantage of a few seconds on his Kawasaki in the challenging conditions but reigning champion Bautista began to eat into his lead as the race progressed.

The Spaniard eventually slashed the deficit and moved onto the rear wheel of his Kawasaki rival before making his move for the lead on lap 10, diving underneath Rea into Turn 3.

Pole man Razgatlioglu was now up to third ahead of Lowes, with Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha) holding fifth.

Disaster struck for Lowes with eight laps to go when he came off at Turn 2. The Briton looked in some discomfort as he limped away from the incident.

Bautista was now in control of the race on the new Panigale V4R, holding a lead of almost two seconds over Rea, with Razgatlioglu some way back in third.

The former MotoGP rider and 2006 125cc world champion edged further clear on the final laps, crossing the line to win the first race of the new season by 3.471s from Rea, who surpassed 1996 and 2005 champion Troy Corser’s record of 377 WSBK starts as he lined up for his 378th race.

Turkey’s Razgatlioglu rounded out a familiar rostrum, a further 2.6s behind, with fourth going to Locatelli.

Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing Ducati) was on his own in fifth while Team HRC’s Iker Lecuona completed the top six on the factory Honda ahead of team-mate Xavi Vierge.

MotoGP race winner and WSBK series rookie Danilo Petrucci was the leading newcomer in eighth on the Barni Spark Racing Ducati while Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad) and Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) finalised the top 10.

Tom Sykes was a retirement on the Puccetti Racing Kawasaki on his return to the championship.

The Superpole race on Sunday is at 02:00 GMT with race two at 05:00 GMT.

In the first World Supersport race, Scotsmen and series newcomers John McPhee and Tarran Mackenzie finished third and fifth respectively.