Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea produced an outstanding performance in World Superbike race two at Misano to move into a commanding 66-point lead in the championship.

Rea defeated team-mate Tom Sykes in the end by almost three seconds, having tailed the Yorkshireman for much of the 21-lap race as Aruba.it Ducati’s Davide Giugliano took third.

The start of the race saw Rea charge down to Turn 1, only for Sykes to make an ambitious move around the outside of Turn 2 and it was this move that allowed the 2013 world champion to control the race thereafter.

However, Rea looked comfortable chasing his team-mate, menacing even and with five laps remaining the Ulsterman replicated Sykes’ opening lap move to take the lead at Turn 2.

After that it was plain sailing for Rea, eking out a gap lap-by-lap as a close race became a dominant victory and in the process the reigning champion became only the third rider in World Superbike history to take ten double race wins.

Sykes performed well at Misano, holding off Rea valiantly for much of the race but the Kawasaki rider could never quite get away from his team-mate and in the end paid the price for it.

Giugliano’s third-place was a welcome comfort for the Aruba.it Ducati team after their leading rider and championship hopeful Chaz Davies crashed out on lap two.

Davies was inadvertently involved in a huge high-side for Althea BMW’s Markus Reiterberger on the first lap and it didn’t get any better for the Welshman from there, as he slid out at Turn 14 with Honda’s Michael Van Der Mark careering into the back of him.

Fourth place went the way of Barni Ducati’s Xavi Fores, the Spaniard giving another mature showing on the Panigale.

The battle for fifth went down to the wire, with Pata Yamaha’s Alex Lowes losing out in the last few laps as Aprilia’s Lorenzo Savadori, Honda’s Nicky Hayden and Althea’s Jordi Torres all passing the Lincolnshire rider who had to settle for eighth.

Both Savadori and Lowes suffered big moments on their bikes at Turn 8 during the course of the race, but in the end the Aprilia man had enough in the tank to take fifth ahead of Hayden and Torres.

Niccolo Canepa, standing in for the injured Sylvain Guintoli, placed ninth on the Pata Yamaha while Van Der Mark was able to remount after the Davies incident to finish inside the top ten.

Reigning British Superbike champion Josh Brookes finished inside the points again, in 14th on the Milwaukee BMW while MV Agusta rider Leon Camier retired on lap 12 with a technical issue.