Rea frustrated to miss out on Race 2 win

Jonathan Rea was left frustrated after missing out on a chance of victory in Sunday’s second Superbike race at Donington Park.

The Ulsterman stalked team-mate Sykes, who had so far dominated the weekend with pole position and race one win, throughout the second race and looked to have the pace to steal victory from the Yorkshireman’s grasp.

However, after making his move at the Melbourne loop in the late stages of the race, he hit a false neutral going into the final turn giving Sykes the space he needed to re-take the lead.

As Rea tried to make up the lost ground, he began to struggle with arm-pump issues and admits he had little left for his Kawasaki team-mate.

“I got another neutral going into the final hairpin corner, just as I had made my pass, so I was a little bit frustrated with that. In the end of the race I did not have much for Tom,” he said after the race.

“I feel my bike was working really good, so I want to thank my team, especially as we have been working close with Kawasaki and all the crew to get the bike suited to me. It seems we are getting there now. In the last few races we have defined the engine character that I really like, so now it is the balance of the bike that seems to be working.

“To be so close to Tom, in a circuit that he is so strong at, is good because he is riding really strongly now. I am happy for that and happy to come here and make a big margin in my championship lead as well. That is the priority – but it would have been really nice to cap it off with a win in race two. My bike was feeling really good but near the end I just suffered a little bit with arm pump in my right arm.”