JONATHAN Rea was in stunning form at the World Superbike round at Imola in Italy yesterday (Sunday).

The Castletown resident won the first race and had a 3.5 second lead in the second when a connector on his machine's battery failed with four laps to go, forcing him to pit.

It was only Jonathan's second round back in the championship after suffering a broken arm and wrist in a warm-up crash at Misano in Italy in June.

He missed out on the Imola races last year due to injury.

Jonathan, who rides for the Castrol Honda team, said: "Race one was pretty emotional, because it's been a long journey back.

"Last season ended for me here, so it's a credit to all the people around me - my family, my friends, my girlfriend and of course the team - who have got me back to the top step.

"I used last year's disappointment as a big motivation today and race two was looking really good too, so it was disappointing not to finish.

"I know the guys behind me were pushing pretty hard but I felt quite comfortable at the front.

"We've come a long way and I'm not going to get wrapped up in the negative of race two.

"What happened was a failure of a one Euro battery connector so in my heart I know we had two really good races today.

"The biggest result was the continued development of the new electronics system, so I can't thank the team enough for the faith they've shown in me to keep pushing with that development.

"We're still looking to improve in other areas too, not just electronics, so that fills me with confidence for next week in Magny-Cours."

Jonathan, who is from Northern Ireland, finished ahead of Japanese rider Noriyuki Haga (Aprilia) and championship leader Carlos Checa (Ducati) in race one.