Jonathan Rea third as Michael Ruben Rinaldi doubles up at Misano

Italian rider Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati) and Pata Yamaha’s Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) fought it out for the win over the 10-lap sprint race at the Marco Simoncelli circuit, with 25-year-old Rinaldi coming out on top for his second victory of the weekend. Rea – third in Saturday’s race –claimed the final rostrum spot once more ahead of Scott Redding (Aruba.it Ducati).

Rinaldi, who was a dominant winner of Saturday’s opening 21-lap race, was celebrating his second win as a Ducati rider and his third career success in World Superbikes. He became the first rider since Max Biaggi in 2012 to win two races in the same weekend at Misano.

Rea started from pole after his record lap in Superpole qualifying on Saturday but it was Razgatlioglu who seized the lead from the front row, with Rinaldi – who started from fourth – also making a pass on the six-time world champion on the next lap to snatch second.

Razgatlioglu was setting a hot pace out front but Rinaldi was right on his tail and eventually squeezed past with a clinical move at Turn 11 on the sixth lap.

Try as he might, Razgatlioglu was unable to strike back and Rinaldi wrapped up a Misano double by 0.485s, with Rea 1.865s behind the winner as he made it a staggering 151 WSBK podiums as a Kawasaki rider.

Rinaldi also set a new lap record, which had been established by Rea in Saturday’s race, setting a new benchmark of 1m 34.356s compared to Rea’s time of 1m 34.476s.

Redding, fourth on Saturday, was less than a second further adrift in fourth again, while Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing Ducati) finalised the leading six.

Eugene Laverty, ruled out of race one following a crash in FP3, finished 13th on the RC Squadra Corse BMW.

The second 21-lap on Sunday is scheduled for 13:00 BST when Rinaldi will be gunning for a dream treble in front of the Italian fans.

This weekend’s races are being attended by up to 5,000 fans for the first time this season.

* A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Irish and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. To subscribe, click here.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Thank you,

Alistair Bushe

Editor