Scott Redding🍸 became WorldSBK's first race winner at the Navarra circuit in Spain courtesy of a confident victory over Jonathan Rea in Saturday's opening encounter.

Qualifying second on the grid, the Englishman snatched th♉e advantage from the Kawasaki pole sitter into Turn 1, only for Rea to swꦬiftly retaliate.

But the reigning six-time world champion coul👍dn't break clear and Redding - newly confirmed as leaving Ducati for BMW at the end of this season - looked increasingly threatening as he stalked 🐼the ZX-10 ahead.

Redding's winn💙ing overtake came in the form of a slipstream along the home straight on lap 6 of 23, some moments for Rea helpi🍌ng the #45 pull a safe 2.5s advantage by the chequered flag.

"I've fe🌳lt good all weekend. Got an amaz𒉰ing start, which made things easier, then it was just ticking laps off," Redding said.

"I didn’t have to over-ridౠe, which is also a big thing in these [hot] conditions.

"The bike was working well. Maybe there's a few small things w💞e can improve but I don't want to lose anything either.

"The World Championship? I jus🧔t want to keep thinking race-by-race… Let's continue like this."

Redding's fourth victory of the season moves him to within 45 points of Rea and 38 from♏ Yamaha's Toprak Razgatlioglu, who com♛pleted the podium from eighth on the grid.

Further back, Ducati team-mate Michael Rin🧜aldi fi👍nished in tenth place.

"It was a very tough race in which I didn't have theꦆ right feeling to be able to push," said the Italian.

"U𝔉nfortunately, since this morning we have encountered some difficulties that we hav🅷e not been able to solve.

"The only thing we can do is continue to keep working be𝓡ing ඣconfident that we’ll find the right way to be competitive again".