Ducati’s Scott Redding benefitted from a late error by Jonathan Rea to take the opening WorldSBK race win at Aragon this afternoon which also meant he takes the championship lead.
Redding and Rea were in their own battle for the win with Chaz Davies 1.1s down the road when Rea ran wide on the brakes into turn 12 which allowed the reigning BSB champion to open a gap and for Davies to steal second place with a 1.5s deficit to the Welshman.
Davies was the form man yesterday in terms of one lap and race simulation pace but he had to make up seven places after a poor qualifying to take a podium but didn’t have enough tyre left to do anything about Redding.
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) and then Rea were the first lap leaders, with eventual winner Redding joining them up front.
Lowes was to suffer a spectacular highside with 14 laps of the 18 to go, sliding down the middle of the track as the following riders passed him on both sides. He walked away largely unhurt in a crash that looked like a problem with electronics.
In a race with several fallers and retirees; Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GoEleven Ducati) was fourth, winning a fight with Michael van der Mark (Yamaha) fifth.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) was sixth but 18 seconds down, with front row qualifier Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) seventh. Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) had a best of season eighth, Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha) placed ninth and early prospect Leon Haslam (HRC Honda) rounded out the top ten after slipping down the order mid-race.
Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was an early retiree and his team-mate Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) took a ride through penalty for not re-entering pitlane after he had fallen on the sighting lap, but went straight to the grid to have his brakes worked upon. Alvaro Bautista (HRC Honda) and Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) were also fallers.
