WSBK: Rea dedicates Misano win to injured Jamie Hamilton

Rea extended his series lead to 133 points over team-mate Tom Sykes after winning race two and finishing second in race one at the Italian circuit.

He tweeted: “Went 2-1 for the overall today! This one is for you Jamie! ‪#hammertime‬ ‪#keepfighting‬.”

Hamilton is recovering in hospital at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool following his serious crash and is now in a stable condition having previously being described as critical but stable.

In Sunday’s first race it was Sykes who rode from pole position to the win by a margin of 3.613 seconds over Rea, after Rea had opted for a different rear tyre from all his rivals and got held up in some of the early laps.

Rea had to fight hard for second in the final laps, holding off Ducati’s Chaz Davies. He held on to take his 16th straight podium finish of the year.

In race two the former Larne Grammar pupil overhauled long-time leader Davide Giugliano to take the 25 points and a new lap record of ’34.720.

Sykes had more difficulty finding the required traction in race two, and dropped from the lead he held for six laps to finish fifth.

In the championship picture, Rea has 375 points to Sykes’ 242, with the series moving to America for Laguna Seca in the USA.

“Obviously we have to start to think about the championship now but I wanted to win today,” said Rea. “In race two Davide Giugliano was a good marker to understand my pace and then with a few laps left I made a move to pass. We made a great race and I think at the end we are using our rear tyres better than some others.

“We changed our rear tyre choice from race one and that was always the plan, as the morning was a bit cooler. Kawasaki has given us a bike to win and they proved that today with Tom winning race one and me winning race two. I am so grateful to be in this position and to have the opportunity to fight to wins.”