Reigning WorldSBK champ Jonathan Rea went unchallenged in this morning’s Superpole race after team-mate Alex Lowes crashed out of second early doors, handing Rea a big lead over Tom Sykes.

But it was disaster for championship contender Scott Redding who went out on a drying track using full wets and he finished stone last.

With most riders finally opting for intermediate tyres on the grid, but the occasional high profile name going for wets, the track stayed relatively dry over race distance.

A second lap crash from  Lowes robbed him of a seemingly certain runner-up spot behind Rea, as he clipped a white line at the base of the Old Hairpin and lost first the rear, then the front, on lap two. He restarted to finish 14th.

From then on it and with Rea easing out the leading pace it was a fight for second place, with VDM and then Sykes most likely, and the English rider finally easing out enough of a lead to make the runner-up spot certain.

Leon Haslam (HRC Honda) was in podium contention for almost the whole race, pushing hard behind VDM but still a strong fourth place in the final results, just under four seconds from Rea.

Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) was fifth and Saturday race winner Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) sixth, unable to make the kind of early push that would have given him the potential for a sprint race win.

With lots of changes of tyre options on the grid, as the possibility of more rain continued, Razgatlioglu was originally said to be on wets but had made a very late change to intermediate tyres.

Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was one of few who went for the wet option, and paid the price, finishing 18th and last of the finishers.

Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was a strong seventh and second top Independent rider, with Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven Ducati) eighth, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) ninth and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) tenth.

Local rider Luke Mossey (Outdo Kawasaki TPR) was 17th - on rain tyres.

Rea extended his championship lead to 23 points over Razgatlioglu with the second long race to come later on Sunday afternoon.

Donington WorldSBK sprint race - conditions dry

1 1 1 J. REA GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki ZX-10RR 10 1’30.548 266,9 1’40.101 256,7
2 3 66 T. SYKES GBR BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW M 1000 RR 10 2.531 2.531 1’30.199 266,2 1’40.763 257,3
3 2 60 M. VAN DER MARK NED BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW M 1000 RR 10 3.409 0.878 1’30.586 268,2 1’40.626 254,9
4 7 91 L. HASLAM GBR Team HRC Honda CBR1000 RR-R 10 3.955 0.546 1’30.689 268,9 1’42.206 253,7
5 5 31 G. GERLOFF USA GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 IND 10 4.067 0.112 1’30.626 268,2 1’41.393 256,1
6 13 54 T. RAZGATLIOGLU TUR Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha YZF R1 10 5.011 0.944 1’30.196 265,6 1’42.840 254,3
7 10 44 L. MAHIAS FRA Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX-10RR IND 10 6.461 1.450 1’30.633 263,0 1’42.658 247,9
8 9 7 C. DAVIES GBR Team GoEleven Ducati Panigale V4 R IND 10 11.599 5.138 1’30.994 268,9 1’42.630 259,8
9 11 55 A. LOCATELLI ITA Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha YZF R1 10 20.284 8.685 1’31.558 265,6 1’42.683 255,5
10 8 21 M. RINALDI ITA Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Ducati Panigale V4 R 10 24.865 4.581 1’32.189 270,2 1’42.587 258,6
11 12 47 A. BASSANI ITA Motocorsa Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R IND 10 25.318 0.453 1’32.220 268,2 1’42.801 253,1
12 15 50 E. LAVERTY IRL RC Squadra Corse BMW M 1000 RR IND 10 25.584 0.266 1’32.212 263,6 1’43.345 253,7
13 17 32 I. VINALES ESP Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki ZX-10RR IND 10 40.885 15.301 1’32.907 264,3 1’44.630 249,0
14 4 22 A. LOWES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki ZX-10RR 10 1’09.188 28.303 1’31.532 265,6 1’41.351 259,2
15 16 19 A. BAUTISTA ESP Team HRC Honda CBR1000 RR-R 10 1’16.976 7.788 1’38.712 254,3 1’43.625 244,5
16 20 94 J. FOLGER GER Bonovo MGM Racing BMW M 1000 RR IND 10 1’24.717 7.741 1’38.738 251,9 1’46.660 245,0
17 14 12 L. MOSSEY GBR OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki ZX-10RR IND 10 1’33.316 8.599 1’39.194 251,3 1’43.212 249,0
18 6 45 S. REDDING GBR Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Ducati Panigale V4 R 10 1’37.702 4.386 1’39.374 253,7 1’42.067 251,9
—————————————————————————Not Classified—————————————————————————
RET 21 84 L. CRESSON BEL OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki ZX-10RR IND 7 3 Laps 1’42.565 250,7 1’46.775 247,3
RET 19 23 C. PONSSON FRA Alstare Yamaha Yamaha YZF R1 IND 5 5 Laps 1’45.016 241,2 1’46.568 250,7
RET 18 53 T. RABAT ESP Barni Racing Team Ducati Panigale V4 R IND 1 9 Laps 260,4 1’44.703 256,7