New six-time World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea fifth in penultimate race of season at Estoril in Portugal

Newly-crowned World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea finished fifth in the Superpole race at Estoril in Portugal on Sunday.

The Kawasaki rider, who started from 15th place on row five, crossed the line behind Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Ducati), whose team-mate Scott Redding completed the top six.

It is the first time Rea has completed three races in a row without finishing on the podium since he joined Kawasaki in 2015.

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He remains on 99 wins but will have one final opportunity this year to reach a landmark 100th career WSBK success in race two this afternoon (14:00 BST).

Turkey’s Toprak Razgatlioglu doubled up for Pata Yamaha with a dominant victory from the front, with American Garrett Gerloff clinching the runner-up spot on the GRT Yamaha.

Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha) made up for the disappointment of crashing out of podium contention in Saturday’s race by sealing the final rostrum place in third, creating an all-Yamaha podium for the first time ever in the championship.

Eugene Laverty was outside the points in 16th on the factory BMW, with team-mate Tom Sykes in 11th.

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Rea sealed a record sixth title in a row on Saturday after finishing fourth. The Northern Ireland rider had to start from 15th place on the grid following a crash during qualifying.

His only remaining title rival, Redding, also crashed in a dramatic Superpole session on Saturday and had to start the opening race from the back of the grid in last place. Redding endured more back luck when he was forced to retire from the race with a technical issue.

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