Jonathan Rea returned to the top step of the WorldSBK podium for the first time this season after making the most of a savvy tyre strategy to run away to victory in a damp-to-dry race at Most.

In a flag-to-flag race that began wet but had dried by the flag, Rea’s strategy of taking a gamble on intermediate tyres rather than the wet tyre choice of those around him paid dividends as he held onto the front group early on before capitalising on their necessary stops to leapfrog into the lead.

Rea’s first win of the season, it ends his longest victory drought since joining Kawasaki and makes him only the third rider this year to top the podium together with Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu. 

It was Rea’s decisive choice of tyres from the start that ultimately made the difference, the Ulsterman using his experience to stay upright in the initial stages before allowing evolving track conditions come back towards him and his factory Kawasaki ZX-10RR.

Initially it was Axel Bassani who made a rapid break in the sketchy conditions, pulling out a lead of more than ten seconds over Remy Gardner, who in turn built a decent gap back to a jostle for the final podium spot in the opening laps.

Among them was Rea, who along with championship leader Alvaro Bautista - making progress from 13th on the grid - rose into third and fourth, before both dispatched of Gardner for second place on lap five.

Soon those on wet weather tyres began to peel into the pit-lane for a change to slick rubber, allowing Rea to ascend to the head of the field, where he would remain to the chequered flag despite Razgatlioglu making a concerted bid in the closing stages to claw back ground.

In the end Rea was four seconds clear of Razgatlioglu, the Turkish rider taking his time getting up to speed in the tricky conditions before unleashing his full pace once the Czech circuit had dried.

Picking his way through to second place, he led home Danilo Petrucci, who secured his second podium of the season on the Barni Ducati as the highest-placed independent rider.

A rider with wet weather victories to his name in WorldSBK, Scott Redding once again came good when the heavens opened to take a fourth place finish on the ROKiT BMW M 1000 RR, ahead of while Iker Lecuona, who secured his best result of the season in fifth position on the factory Honda.

Andrea Locatelli completed the top six to maintain his consistent run of form on the Pata Yamaha R1, with Axel Bassani crossed the line in seventh place after a late decision to pit and change tyres cost him time and dropped him back down the field.

Even so, he’d make late gains to get ahead of Dominique Aegerter by the finish, the Swiss rider returning to the top ten in eighth place, ahead of Alex Lowes on the second of the factory Kawasaki bikes and Loris Baz, the Frenchman completing the top ten.

Gardner also slipped back at the flag to finish 11th, ahead of series leader Bautista, who suffered a torrid afternoon after a slow stop held him back down the order. He eventually recovered to 12th, ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi in 14th, the Aruba.it Ducati pair sandwiching Michael van der Mark in 13th in his first race since Assen. Tito Rabat landed the 15th and final point.

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