Castrol Honda's Jonathan Rea was denied the World Superbike double win at Imola today when a £1 battery connector failed while he was leading the race by a country mile with only a hanfdull of laps to go.

His Fireblade visibly slowed with five laps left on the board and he coasted down pitlane one lap later. Earlier in the day, Rea controlled race one to take his first win since having surgery to fix his injured wrist.

"Race one was pretty emotional, because it’s been a long journey back. Last season ended for me here, so it’s a credit to all the people around me – my family, my friends, my girlfriend, and of course the team – who have got me back to the top step. I used last year’s disappointment as a big motivation today and race two was looking really good, too, so it was disappointing not to finish," said Rea.

"I know the guys behind me were pushing pretty hard but I felt quite comfortable at the front. We’ve come a long way and I’m not going to get wrapped up in the negative of race two. What happened was a failure of a one-Euro battery connector so in my heart I know we had two really good races today.

"The biggest result was the continued development of the new electronics system, so I can’t thank the team enough for the faith they’ve shown in me to keep pushing with that development. We’re still looking to improve in other areas, too, not just electronics, so that fills me with confidence for next week in Magny-Cours."