Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea took victory in the opening and soaking wet Misano WorldSBK race one after Alex Lowes crashed out of a 1.5s lead at half distance.
The race was delayed and then stopped due to the amount of water coming out of the sky but then started again at a reduced distance. Rea and Lowes vanished into the distance, pulling a five-second gap on the chasing Tom Sykes.
But, as the rain drove down again, Lowes passed Rea for the lead but then lost the rear in a big puddle - which also caught out Michele Pirro a lap later - which gave Rea first place which he kept until the chequered flag.
With Rea the winner out front, Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad ) took a superb second place, for the new BMW’s first podium finish.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba Ducati) was down in sixth at one stage, and sliding down the order, but as other riders found trouble he held off a late challenge from Loris Baz (Ten Kate Yamaha) to take a damage-limiting third.
Baz was fourth, and after a battling ride Chaz Davies (ArubaD ucati) was fifth.
Over 40 seconds back, Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha) was sixth and after a big crash in the final lap as the rains started more heavily again, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) crashed out and lost his top ten finish.
Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha), Yuki Takahashi (Moriwaki Honda), Lorenzo Zanetti (Go Eleven Ducati) and Leandro Mercado (Orelac Kawasaki) completed the top ten.
Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team) went fifth on lap four of 18 lap race, then finally crashed turn eight lap 13 and had to pit and retire.
