---
title: "Rea opens Qatar weekend on top"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2016/10/28/rea-opens-qatar-weekend-on-top/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Lewis Duncan"
section: "SBK"
published: "2016-10-28T16:13:23Z"
modified: "2016-10-28T16:13:23Z"
---

# Rea opens Qatar weekend on top

World Champion-Elect Jonathan Rea ended the opening hour long practice session under the floodlights of the Losail International Circuit fastest, whilst Kawasaki teammate and title rival Tom Sykes was 13th.

Rea comes into the Qatar WorldSBK finale 48 points clear of Sykes in the standings with just 50 available this weekend, meaning the Northern Irishman can secure his second successive world title in tomorrow’s first race. Feeling relaxed ahead of this weekend, Rea calmly went about his business in FP1 and went three tenths clear at the top of the time sheets with a 1m58.197s.

Aruba.it Ducati’s Chaz Davies comes into this round seeking his third consecutive double victory after two stunning weekends for the Welsh rider at Magny-Cours and Jerez. With just 19 point separating himself from second-placed Sykes, runner-up spot in the 2016 world championship is very much up for grabs. Honda’s Michael van der Mark, who won at Losail in 2014 in WorldSSP, completed the top three as he enters his last round with the Ten Kate squad before departing for Yamaha in 2017.

His future teammate Alex Lowes got his weekend off to a strong start in fourth, just two tenth back from the Dutch rider. Sylvain Guintoli rounded out the top five on the sister Pata YZF-R1, the Frenchman keen to add to his tally of two victories at Losail before his rumoured departure to British Superbikes next year.

Nicky Hayden will be hoping to end his maiden WorldSBK season on a high at a circuit where the podium is very familiar to him. The Kentucky rider, who is fresh from the Australian Grand Prix as Dani Pedrosa’s replacement at the Repsol Honda Team, scored two rostrums at the Qatar venue in MotoGP, taking a best result of second. Hayden ended FP1 sixth fastest on a 1m58.944s ahead of Xavi Fores, Davide Giugliano, Jordi Torres and newly-crowned European Superstock 1000 Champion Raffaele de Rosa.

Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes needs a minor miracle this weekend if he is to win the title, but first he’ll need to pull himself up the order in practice after ending the first session down in 13th, nearly two seconds off the pace. Countryman Leon Camier was just a few hundredths behind in 14th, whilst Leon Haslam’s return to WorldSBK didn’t get off to the best of starts down in 24th, the Pedercini Kawasaki wild-card spending most of the session in pit lane.

![2016-10-28-2](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2016/10/2016-10-28-2.png)