Jonathan Rea survived several 'big moments' to close the gap at the top of the World Superbike championship on Saturday. Rea finished second behind Toprak Razgatlioglu at Donington Park after capitalising on some misfortune for title rival Alvaro Bautista.
Championship leader Bautista crashed out with just nine laps remaining after going in too hot at turn 12. The Spaniard lost the front end - and any chance of picking up points.
That allowed Rea to finish second behind reigning champion Razgatlioglu and cut Bautista's lead to 16 points.
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"That was tough. I got a decent start behind Toprak and just thought by the way the weekend went I'd have a lot more pace. But I made a mistake," Rea told Eurosport.
"The first half of the race I thought I could have been there but I was just too far back. But the last half of the race I ran into some difficulties with my rear tyre and the balance changed."
The day had started so well for Rea. He broke the lap record en route to claiming a dominant pole position at his home race.
But a poor start to race one saw Razgatlioglu surge into the lead by the opening corner. And the Turkish rider never looked back.
Rea got stuck in a dogfight with championship leader Bautista as Razgatlioglu extended his lead. Rea and Bautista diced for several laps before the Spaniard crashed out.
"We went with a longer wheelbase and I just think in in that hot condition I suffered with grip. I had more stability but we need extra grip in these conditions," Rea added.
"We will change back to old faithful for tomorrow and try to be there. We will try a different strategy.
"I can trust that Toprak has the rhythm to go away away. Maybe I should stay and keep my powder dry a little bit longer and be there at the end."
Rea had a big moment at the Esses ( below ) as he duelled with Bautista. The Ulsterman admitted it was one of several nervy incidents.
"I had so many moments out there. At times the bike was bucking like a buckaroo," he joked.
"Lucky we kept everything sensible. I felt in traffic I couldn't do what I wanted to do with the bike.
"When I was alone I was okay. So I had to do some lunges out there.
"But second place and a lot of points for my championship."
Next up is Sunday's Superpole race at 11am before Race Two later in the day at 2pm.
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