Jonathan Rea retains Superbike World Championship title
Last Updated: 30/10/16 9:21pm
Jonathan Rea clinched his second consecutive Superbike World Championship title on Saturday, becoming the first rider since Carl Fogarty in 1999 to retain his title.
The Northern Irishman failed to claim victory in Qatar in the penultimate race of the 2016 season, but finished second behind Chaz Davies to secure an unassailable 55-point lead at the top.
Legendary rider Fogarty claimed successive titles between 1998 and 1999 and also between 1994 and 1995.
And having wrapped up the Championship, Rea played a major role in helping Kawasaki team-mate Tom Sykes finish in second place in the final standings on Sunday.
Davies made it a weekend double by clinching his sixth consecutive victory, but Rea's decision to allow Sykes to pass him into second on the last lap denied Davies the runner-up spot as the season came to a close in the desert.
Sylvain Guintoli came home fourth with Leon Haslam and Jordi Torres completing the top six.
Nicky Hayden, Javier Fores, Raffaele De Rosa and Alex Lowes rounded off the top 10.
