Jonathan Rea third in World Superbike Superpole race at Donington Park after late reshuffle as Toprak Razgatlioglu seals win

Rea, who started from pole, took the lead from the fast-starting Alvaro Bautista into Craner Curves and stayed there until the penultimate lap, when last year’s treble winner Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) pounced on the brakes to snatch the lead at the Melbourne Loop.

Kawasaki rider Rea tried to hit back on the 10th and final lap but lost another position when Bautista squeezed through on the brakes into the Fogarty Esses.

Razgatlioglu held on for his first second Superpole race win of the season, ending a run of 11 consecutive wins for Spaniard Bautista on the Aruba.it Ducati.

Saturday’s race one winner Bautista shattered the lap record with the first ever sub 1:26s lap at the Grand Prix circuit, setting a new benchmark in 1:25.896s on the Panigale V4R.

The reigning champion leads Razgatlioglu by 88 points going into race two on Sunday at Donington, which is scheduled over 23 laps from 16:00 BST.

Turkish ace Razgatlioglu’s winning margin was 0.315s over Bautista, with Rea – who sealed a record 250th podium in Saturday’s first race – 0.2s further behind.

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha) was fourth ahead of Danilo Petrucci (Barni Ducati), while Alex Lowes completed the top six on the second of the factory Kawasaki machines.

Scott Redding was ninth on the ROKiT BMW with fellow Briton and World Superbike rookie Bradley Ray finishing 12th on the Motoxracing Yamaha. Ray, the 2022 British Superbike champion, crashed out of Saturday’s race at Redgate after tangling with Garrett Gerloff.

American rider Gerloff was seventh on the Bonovo Action BMW ahead of Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing Ducati).

Michael Ruben Rinaldi had another miserable race on the Aruba.it Ducati with the Italian coming home in 17th place after running on at the Melbourne Loop.

Tom Sykes (ROKiT BMW) was 18th after the Yorkshireman slid off before re-joining the race.