Rea wins historic third World title

Castletown rider makes it three in a row

Castletown's Jonathan Rea has won an historic third World Superbike Championship.

He won the opening race at a wet Magny-Cours in France in dominant fashion.

Rea finished 16.3 seconds ahead of runner-up Marco Melandri.

Earlier he recovered from a spill in practice to grab pole position in qualifying.

Kawasaki rider Jonathan Rea now has 50 career wins at the level and has won 12 races this season.

He's the first rider in World Superbike history to win three consecutive titles.

He is now level with Australian Troy Corser with three World Superbike crowns and one behind Carl Fogarty.