WSBK Catalunya: Jonathan Rea shows fighting spirit to claim runner-up spot in race one behind runaway winner Alvaro Bautista

Ducati rider Bautista made a flying start from the second row to the lead into the first corner and was never headed throughout the 20-lap race, which he won by 8.6s from six-time champion Rea.

Reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu – who qualified eighth – held second place on his Pata Yamaha for much of the race until he began lose ground rapidly in the final stages when his rear tyre began to fade. The Turkish rider eventually crossed the line in fifth after he was overhauled by Kawasaki’s Rea, Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) and Bautista’s Aruba.it Ducati team-mate Michael Ruben Rinaldi.

Ulsterman Rea qualified on the front row alongside pole man Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team), but the 35-year-old was swamped into Turn 1 and dropped back after he was pushed wide by Rinaldi.

Rea found himself down in ninth place on the first lap, but as the race progressed he gradually began to work his way through the pack to put himself in contention for an unlikely podium.

With strong pace towards the end, he quickly caught the struggling Razgatlioglu with four laps to go and moved into the runner-up spot, with Rea able to keep Gerloff at bay on the final two laps to earn a valuable 20 points.

Bautista has now increased his advantage at the top to 44 points over Razgatlioglu following his ninth win this year, with Rea a further eight points adrift in third.

Eugene Laverty finished in 10th position on the Bonovo Action BMW.

Fellow BMW riders Scott Redding and Michael van der Mark failed to finish, with Redding crashing out while van der Mark retired with a technical issue on the official BMW Motorrad machine.

Spain’s Lecuona, who claimed his first World Superbike pole, finished the race in sixth.

Sunday’s Superpole race will take place at 10:00 BST with race two scheduled for 13:00 BST as the Spanish track hosts round eight of the championship.