WorldSBK Aragon Race 1 Results: Redding back on top in Rea duel

Scott Redding is back in the lead of the 2020 WorldSBK Championship standings after prevailing in a gritty battle with Jonathan Rea to lead a Ducati 1-2 the first race of the weekend at Motorland Aragon.

Rea came into the race as the hot favourite after breaking the lap record in Superpole but in race trim he came up against some stiff opposition in Ducati, with Redding utilising his machine’s clear advantage in a straight line to take on and defeat his title rival.

Indeed, Rea looked a strong bet in the opening stages, shrugging off a poor start to bully his way back into the lead by the end of the opening lap.

However, despite being one of those riders to get pushed aside in the opening bends, Redding grabbed second from Alex Lowes at the close of lap four and set off in chase of Rea.

Shadowing the Ulsterman through the opening half of the race, Redding powered by at Turn 1 on lap nine to stretch the initiative. What followed was an ebb and flow between the pair, Rea quicker through the technical sections, but unable to stay close down the 1km back straight despite the ex-MotoGP man visibly beginning to struggle with tyres in the closing stages.

However, Rea’s attempts to pressure Redding would instead prompt his own mistake with four laps remaining, an error that released his rival and allowed him to be swamped by Chaz Davies and dropped to third.

Despite some late attention from Davies - charging up from ninth on the grid - Redding held on, the maximum points’ haul allowing him to turn the erstwhile four point deficit into a fresh five point lead.

Outside the podium contenders, Michael Ruben Rinaldi impressed again on the privateer Ducati in fourth, leading a trio of Yamahas in Michael van der Mark, Toprak Razgatlioglu and front row starter Loris Baz.

Elsewhere, Alex Lowes spoiled a good result with an off on lap five, the Kawasaki rider lucky not to be struck by the following back when he high-sided out of Turn 4, while Alvaro Bautista was in the thick of the fight for fourth when he too dropped out on the Honda.

WorldSBK Aragon - Race 1 Results