Jonathan Rea matched another all-time World Super𝄹bike record🦹 with his 17th victory of the season, in Qatar on Friday.

The four꧅-time world champion thus matches Doug Polen's ꦰ1991 tally and will have the chance to take win number 18 - and his twelfth victory in a row - during Saturday night's season finale.

Rea qualified secoꦬnd on tꦓhe grid behind team-mate Tom Sykes, but snatched the holeshot at turn one and never looked back, steadily building a 1.4s advantage.

"There is a lot of h𝔉ard work done to arrive in this position," Rea said. "It is really difficult; to build the package, the team atmosphere and a feeling with the bike.

"This weekend I have not quite felt myself on the bike and I said to my guys yesterday evening that this game is so much about confidence. We have been lucky this year in that I have had such a great ℱfeeling with the bike and that we have had that little bit extra.

"That gives you confidence and you are able to ride in a certain ✅way. That is how it is done; that confidence the bike gives me, working with the team. Every time we are struggling, or💜 my confidence is down, my crew chief Pere Riba finds a way to re-invent that, and turn things around. I am really grateful for that."

The race two reverse grid means Rea wi𓄧ll line-up in ninth place, just behind Sykes and Alex Lowes (Y🙈amaha).

Sykes kept Rea in sight throughout Friday's race, but was never close enou☂gh to atta𒁏ck.

"I think overall we made a good race. Yesterday in the long run there was myself and anotheღr rider who destroyeꦕd the front tyre, so today I think it all went to plan," Sykes said.

"This morning in FP4 we used a set of tyres from 🎃yesterday, the pace was there, improving all the time. Then the qualifying tyre went into the bike for Superpole and instantly when that tyre goes in I go to my more natural riding style, and everything 🃏becomes easier. That was nice to win Superpole.

"In the first, probably eight, laps I felt like we could have pushed on a little bit harder in some of the fast right corners but I just kind of knocked it back a fraction - which I think proved a go꧂od idea.

"I saw the gap closing be𒊎hind meඣ a fraction at one stage so I pushed to finish second."

Sykes will be making his final Kawasaki appearance on Saturday, ඣbefore BSB champion Leon Haslam takes over his seat for 2💫019.

On course to finish fourth in the world championship, Sykes is tipped to join the S♋MR team on BMW machinery next year.