Can Davies build on his winning performance?
WorldSBK commentator Steve English delves into how MotorLand Aragon could affect the 2017 season
Momentum is King in racing. If you have it behind you it will make everything run smoother and easier for you. Success breeds success and it's been a long time in WorldSBK since we saw success on the level of Jonathan Rea in 2017. The Northern Irishman won the opening five races of the season, and in Aragon we saw him go bar to bar with Chaz Davies in both races.
When Davies crashed out of the opening race of the weekend on the last lap while under intense pressure from Rea, it would have been easy for the momentum to have completely swung the way of the Kawasaki rider. Instead, on Sunday we saw Davies dig deep on his Ducati to claim his first win of the season in thrilling style.
Coming back from his fast crash on Saturday to claim the win was hugely impressive from Davies, considering the momentum that Rea had built up in the course of those five victories. The mistake in Race 1 was a very costly error from Davies, and one that should have been avoided, given how difficult it would have been for Rea to overtake into turn 16, but with the Ducati and Kawasaki working in such polar opposites in Aragon it was a clear example of the pressure that riders are under in races.
While the outright pace of both bikes is very similar, the way they generate that time is completely different. The philosophy of both bikes is at different ends of the spectrum, and that was perfectly illustrated at Aragon with Rea faster in the opening half of the lap and Davies in the second half of the lap.
Davies was struggling with tyre wear during the final laps of the race, and said that the weight transfer from the rear to front became a major issue. The weight of expectation also was starting to become an issue for the Welshman, and that's why it was so impressive to see him bounce back on Sunday.
Over 18 laps both riders had to fight their way back through the pack. With Rea starting from ninth on the grid and Davies one place further back, it took them until the final third of the race to really slug it out once again. As the two heavyweights of WorldSBK, they slugged it out in those final laps with each counter-punching the others attacks.
It took a small mistake on the last lap from Davies to open the door for Rea, but his determination and desire to finally claim his first win of the year was clear for all to see. The final lap was a cliffhanger with it coming down to the wire. The last opportunity for Rea to claim the lead was at turn 15, the slow right hander leading on to the back straight, but this also showed the differences between both bikes once again.
With Rea diving down the inside and Davies squaring off the corner, it was an easy win in the drag race for the Ducati rider and ultimately it was at this point that the race was won and lost. Davies had the momentum on the exit of the corner and claimed his first win of the year, but now the question becomes whether or not he can carry that momentum forward. With the third round of the WorldSBK season now in the books, races come thick and fast in the next three months.
While Davies has finally broken his duck for 2017, he'll be keen to keep winning. On the other hand Rea has been riding the crest of a wave of confidence and dominance all year, and will be keen to stamp his authority back on the field in Assen.