Rea takes win in Misano

Added on Sunday, June 21st, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments

Jonathan Rea became the first Brit to win a World Superbike Championship race since August 2007 as he took the chequered flag in race two of an intriguing weekend in Misano.

The Ten Kate Honda rider made a final lap move on Ducati’s Michel Fabrizio and successfully held off the Italian to take his first ever WSB win and become the first British rider to win a WSB race since James Toseland won at Brands Hatch back in August 2007.

The 22-year-old from Northern Ireland made up for a disappointing seventh place in race one with the victory and added even more intrigue to the championship fight.

The round started in familiar fashion, with Yamaha’s Ben Spies coming out on top in the season’s first flag-to-flag race after another Brit, this time Shane Byrne, dominated for much of the opening exchanges.

As the riders came to pit however, it was Spies who got his strategy right to finish first, ahead of the second placed Byrne.

It was a good result for Ducati, with the Italian marque making up four of the top five spots, with Fabrizio taking up the final podium place ahead of Jacob Smrz and championship leader Haga.

Race two however was a different story for Spies, with the American visibly frustrated with his Yamaha R1 as he crossed the line in ninth with a reported clutch problem.

Haga finished third behind teammate Fabrizio to leave him 48 points ahead of Spies in the rider’s standings.

Byrne backed up his earlier podium with a sixth place finish leading a British trio of Tom Sykes and Leon Haslam.

Rea wasn’t the only British winner in Misano however, with Yamaha’s Supersport rider Cal Crutchlow taking victory to jump ahead of Ireland’s Eugene Laverty in the WSS rider’s standings.

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