Jonathan Rea has been stripped of his podium finish during the first💞 race of the World Superbike Championship round in Jerez afte𒀰r stewards belatedly deemed him responsible for his incident with Alex Lowes.

The defend🔜ing champion was involved in an entertaining tussle with Pata Yamaha’s Lowes for third right up to the closing stages when he left it late to target an inside move at the notorious final corner left-hand hairpin, today named after Jorge Lorenzo.

However – as many have done in the past – the pair made contact, with a ಞhapless Lowes coming o🐈ff the R1 and into an effective retirement.

Rea went on to cruise across the line in third place but was visibly shaken by the incident in the immediate aftermath. Nonetheless, with the result qu𒁃ickly declared, it appeared he’d hold onto the finish only for stewards to reconvene in the hours after 🐭the race to reverse that decision.

As such, Rea is bumped off the podium to fourth place, making it the first time i🎀n 34 races – since Thailand 2018 – that he has been reached th💯e chequered flag and been classified outside the top three.

Moreover, he will be forced to start the short 10 lap Supe🅰rpole Race from the back of the 19-rider field rather than from pole position.

The d🃏ecisions were made as they collectively give back to Yamaha as a manufacturer, even if Marco Melandri bizarrely ends up becoming the biggest beneficiary by securing a third-place finish in race one and earning a second place s꧙tart for the Superpole Race.