Winning double for Rea in superbikes

British rider Jonathan Rea has completed a winning double in the world superbikes round at Phillip Island.

Northern Irish Kawasaki rider Jonathan Rea (right)

Jonathan Rea (R) has claimed a winning double in the world superbikes round at Phillip Island. (AAP)

World champion Jonathan Rea has completed a stunning double in the opening round of the 2016 superbike world championship at Phillip Island by narrowly winning both 22-lap races.

The Kawasaki pilot defeated Honda's Michael van der Mark and Ducati's Davide Giugliano to complete the clean sweep on Sunday.

But it was a disaster for Chaz Davies (Ducati) who crashed on the final lap while trying to pass Rea under brakes at turn four.

Davies remounted and finished in 10th position, a fastest lap of 1:31.321 for the race scant consolation for what could have been.

BMW Motorrad's Josh Brookes was the leading Australian in ninth place.

Australia's second rider, Mike Jones (Ducati), crashed on lap 12 while in 14th position.

Rea also won race one on Saturday ahead of Davies and van der Mark.

The British star's perfect score was the first at Phillip Island's WorldSBK round since Spaniard Carlos Checa in 2011.

The victories were Rea's 30th and 31st in the production-based series, and he was particularly animated on both occasions, sharing triumphant wheelies with the crowd.

"It's incredible to get the double, said Rea.

"The key to my race today was having fixed the bike to really allow me to fight with the other riders in the heavy braking areas.

"It was impossible to pull away from the other riders, so I just set my own pace and stay composed."

Van der Mark was delighted after earning his best-ever points haul in a WorldSBK round.

"It has been an amazing way to start a season," said van der Mark.

"Today's pace wasn't as high as yesterday, as we were all riding smarter to save our tyres.

"Eventually, I tried to up the pace a little bit as the group wasn't really breaking up.

"It was a shame Chaz crashed out, and on the last lap I wanted to attack Johnny but he was stronger."

Round two of the championship is in Thailand from March 11-13.


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Source: AAP



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