Chaz Davies took a huge step towards finishing runner-up in the World Superbikes Championship after taking second spot in the opening race in Losail.

The Powys-born rider came home nearly five second down on Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea who claimed his 15th win of the season.

But Davies’ rival for second spot in the championship – Tom Sykes – finished back in sixth spot on Friday night.

The 30-year-old will be certain of finishing runner-up for the second time in three years if he finishes ahead of the Kawasaki rider in Saturday’s final race of the season at Losail.

The duo had been level on points going into the final round but Davies was ahead on countback.

The Aruba It Racing Ducati ace said: “The first part of the weekend is complete.

“I’m happy because we achieved our main task, which was to gain some points in the fight for second position in the championship, but honestly it was a tough race.

“I think we did the best with what we had, it was a case of managing a few issues. We struggled with grip both in corner entry and exit, and we missed a bit of agility.

“But, we took second place and we’re happy to get 20 points in the bag and a lot of useful data ahead of tomorrow to improve with the electronics and especially engine brake.

“We need to stay focused and hopefully we’ll make another couple of steps forward for Race 2.”