Torres takes his first WSB win at Qatar

Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) secured his first ever WorldSBK race victory in race one under the floodlights in Qatar, after an epic last-lap fight with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team).

Torres became the first non-British rider to win a race in 2015, his rookie WorldSBK season.

The Spanish rider had to work his way forward but in the latter stages was the fastest man on track, passing both Rea and long-time leader Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team).

Rea tried everything to stay in contention, giving “200%” to get ahead again – even trying to pass Torres around the outside in the final corner before running wide and losing by only 0.726 seconds.

With Sykes third Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati WSB) battled hard for fourth and had even started catching the rapidly slowing Sykes over the final three laps.

Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda WSB) made rapid forward progress from the mid-pack but had to slow in the final laps, just as he looked set to get past Davies. The Dutch rider was eventually a slowing fifth, 13 seconds from the win.

Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) placed sixth, and stand-in rider Xavi Fores (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati WSB) was seventh.

David Salom (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) was a surprise eighth, Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing Team Ducati) ninth and Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda WSB) tenth.

Rea did not quite get to the all-time points score record in race one but is only five points from becoming the clear all-time best points scorer in WorldSBK history with race two still to come later today.