Jonathan Rea continued his perfect start to the Superbike World Championship with his second double of the series in Thailand over the weekend.

The 30-year-old Castletown resident was in superb form all weekend at the Chang International Circuit.

On Saturday, in race one, the determined Ulsterman grabbed a clear lead after a single lap of the 4.554km circuit.

The Kawasaki Racing Team star finished 6.279 seconds clear of second place finisher Chaz Davies (Ducati) at the end.

Other than the first and last circuits, Rea posted lap times in the 1min 33sec bracket, a pace which none of his rivals could match in the hot and humid conditions.

Rea also set a new lap record to add to his new track best from Superpole 2. He reduced the lap record to 1. 33.436 on lap five and in Superpole he had made a 1m 32.957 - on race tyres - as there were no qualifying tyres available at this round.

Race two, on Sunday, saw his margin of victory a fraction over four seconds from his own Kawasaki team-mate Tom Sykes.

’This is the best start to a season in my career,’ said a delighted Jonathan after his second back-to-back of the year. ’It is important to maximise these points when we can because it is how I built my championships in the past.

’When we can win, make sure we win, and then we can try and consolidate. These four victories are nearly halfway to my win tally from last year already.’

The weekend double brought Rea’s overall WSB tally to 42 wins.