A stopped and restarted race took place over only ten laps in the final analysis, with the championship top three locked in a fight to see who would finish second behind already crowned champion Rea.

After Saeed Al Sulaiti’s Pedercini Kawasaki had burst into flames and spread oil on the track the first attempt had to be red-flagged and a short full points race re-run, with the grid places from where each rider finished the red flagged race.

Davies and Rea became the fight at the end as Rea passed Sykes at mid-race distance.

With two laps to go Rea was in Davies’ slipstream and with one he was just 0.487 seconds behind the Ducati rider.

Rea, unable to pass Davies, slowed his pace to and his team-mate passed over the line to ensure he and not Davies would finish second in the championship, giving Kawasaki a 1-2 in the final riders’ rankings.

Krummenacher, Sofuoglu, Jonathan Rea and Sykes, Qatar WSBK 2016
Krummenacher, Sofuoglu, Jonathan Rea and Sykes, Qatar WSBK 2016

Davies ended the season with 11 race wins, Rea nine and Sykes five, with the final top three points scorers were Rea on 498, Sykes 447 and Davies 445.

Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) beat the fast starting and finishing stand-in rider Leon Haslam (Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) to fourth spot, with Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) sixth and Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike Team) seventh – despite Hayden having to start the first red flagged ‘race’ from pitlane after he exceeded his limit of engine numbers.

Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team Ducati), stand-in rider Raffaele De Rosa (Althea Racing BMW) and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) finished off the race top ten.

By Gordon Ritchie