Rea finishes 19th as Bulega wins in Italy

Jonathan Rea finished in 19th place on his return to World Superbike action in the fourth round of the 2025 championship at Cremona in Italy.

The Northern Ireland rider had missed the first three rounds of this year's series after suffering a serious injury to his left foot in a crash in testing at Phillip Island in Australia in February.

Rea qualified 17th in Superpole for the first of the weekend's three races on his Pata Yamaha on Saturday but suffered setbacks during the race as he twice ended up riding through gravel sections before getting back on track.

The six-time champion, 38, had been given the go-ahead to compete by medical staff at the meeting.

The race was won by Italian Ducati rider Nicolo Bulega, who took his fifth victory of the season to extend his lead at the top of the standings to 26 points.

Two-time and defending champion Toprak Razgatlioglu, of Turkey, was 2.8 seconds adrift of Bulega at the end of the race and the BMW rider retains his second place in the championship.

Spain's Alvaro Bautista was third on his Ducati.

The Superpole race and second feature race will take place on Sunday.