Ireland’s Jonathan Rea took a record fifth straight WorldSBK title at Magny-Cours today, holding off a spirited challenge from Michael van der Mark for the win which took him 129 points clear of Alvaro Bautista.
The Spaniard was left to watch from the sidelines after he was taken out by Toprak Razgatligolu on the exit of Chateau D’Eau.
Razgatlioglu had passed Bautista into the tight right but asked too much of his rear tyre on the exit and crashed, taking Bautista with him.
Rea still had work to do, but after dicing with second-placed van der Mark and the shadowing third-placed rider Alex Lowes on the second works Yamaha, Rea took the title in style with his 12th win of the season.
Off podium, Chaz Davies (Aruba Ducati) was fourth, one place up on local hero Loris Baz (Ten KateYamaha ).
Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha) won a close fight with Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team) for sixth, as Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), Leon Camier (Moriwaki-Althea Honda Racing Team) and Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) completed the top ten.
In the championship Rea ended up this weekend with an unassailable 129 point led over Bautista, and with two full rounds to go in Argentina and Qatar.
