2018 Misano World Superbike Race One Results: Nice And Warm

The sun stayed out at Misano and a higher temperature track would keep lap times down for the twenty one lap duration. 

Jonathan Rea took the lead from Tom Sykes into turn one as Eugene Laverty and Chaz Davies, launching himself from the third row on the grid, fought over third place with Laverty winning out. Loris Baz crashed out on turn two, limping his bike back to the pits and retiring.

On lap two, Jonathan Rea set the fastest lap ahead and at the end of the lap, the front four broke clear of Xavi Fores and Michael van der Mark, stretching the field out. At the start of lap four, Jonathan Rea was almost a second clear of Tom Sykes and the fight looked like it would be for second place behind Rea, at best.

Heading round the last turn and into lap five, Eugene Laverty tagged onto the back of Tom Sykes and powered past him over the line and took second place from him. A lap later, Chaz Davies took Sykes on, hounding him from turn four onwards and sliding the rear into turn eight, swooping across the track to hold off any counterattack. A few seconds later, Alex Lowes crashed at the same turn, sliding his pike but holding on to the bars and picking it up to resume out of the points. He crashed a few laps later, ending his race.

On lap seven, Jonathan Rea had a second and a half lead over Eugene Laverty. A second behind Laverty, Davies and Sykes were a second and a half clear of Xavi Fores, Michael van der Mark and Lorenzo Savadori with Marco Melandri a further couple of seconds behind. Jordi Torres crashed out behind Melandri, losing the front harmlessly.

At half race distance, Chaz Davies finally broke Tom Sykes's tow and a lap later, Michael van der Mark caught Sykes and started looking for a way past, eventually pulling out a block pass at turn fourteen of lap thirteen, pushing Sykes back to fifth place. 

As the other gaps stretched out, Chaz Davies was closing on Eugene Laverty, getting to within a second and a half of Laverty's second place. Laverty then suffered a broken sensor at the end of lap sixteen and went too wide into the last corner, recovering in time to see Davies power past in second place. 

With no more changes at the front, the fight for sixth place was where the action was, with Xavi Fores and Lorenzo Savadori scrapping over sixth followed by Marco Melandri taking seventh off the defeated Lorenzo Savadori as his pace dropped for the last few laps, having worn his tyres out. Leon Camier held on to ninth place as the fastest rider on the track towards the end of the race. 

As Jonathan Rea started the last lap, with several seconds clear from second place, he gave his team the thumbs up and even found time to wave toward the end of the lap and to pull a mightily impressive wheelie over the line as his team held out emoji 👍👍✊ signs to welcome him across the line. 

Rea's decisive victory was his third in a row, a first for 2018, and increased his lead over second-placed, on track and in the title chase, Chaz Davies to eighty points. Eugene Laverty's second podium, another third place, of the year launched him to eighth place in the championship, knocking Toprak Razgatlioglu down to ninth. Michael van der Mark, in pole position on the rearranged grid tomorrow, consolidated his third place in the championship, ahead of fourth-placed Tom Sykes who finished fifth today.

Results: