WorldSBK Superpole Race RESULTS | Elbows out as Redding spurns bolshy Rea

Scott Redding clicked off his second WorldSBK win of the weekend with a confident fight back against an aggressive Jonathan Rea in the Navarra Superpole Race.

The shortest race of the 2021 WorldSBK season at only 10 laps, Redding, Rea and the fast-starting Toprak Razgatlioglu provided a wealth of entertainment in the initial laps as they played out the tensions of their simmeringh three-way title fight.

Though Redding got the hole-shot into Turn 1 from second on the grid, an evidently eager Rea appeared determined not to let Redding utilise his strengths on the faster stretches of the circuit, striking back with an untidy but effective inside pass at Turn 11.

Forcing Redding wide on the exit, Razgatlioglu - up from eighth on the grid - sliced past as well and immediately set about pressuring Rea, an endeavour he’d achieved coming into the second lap as he out-dragged past the Kawasaki on the run to Turn 1.

It was a fleeting moment in front though as Rea cut back up the inside for Turn 2 with another firm move that sent the Turk wide enough to let Redding back into second.

With the Navarra Circuit seemingly working well for the Redding-steered Ducati, despite Rea’s best attempts to shake the Panigale through the more twisting sections of the lap, it wasn’t enough to prevent the ex-MotoGP rider breezing back past as they entered the home straight again.

Moving in front at the start of lap three, it was a lead Redding would maintain to the end despite Rea composing himself enough to shadow him across the finish line at the chequered flag.

A third straight win for Redding, though Superpole Race success doesn’t deliver as lucrative as reward in terms of points (12 instead of 25), it nibbles Rea’s advantage down to 42 points, while he now has pole position for this afternoon’s Race 2.

Razgatlioglu had to make do with third again after a wide moment at Turn 5 on lap four opened up a gap to the front he couldn’t bridge. He is now nine points behind Rea in the standings.

With an identical top six to that of Race 1, Andrea Locatelli prevailed in a fierce battle between himself and Alex Lowes, while Tom Sykes led the BMW challenge in sixth.

Chaz Davies got some good points on the board with a run to seventh, as Michael van der Mark and Garrett Gerloff completed the top nine points’ paying positions.

2021 WorldSBK Navarra, Spain | Superpole Race RESULTS