Coming off one of his strongest performances of the season, Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) lands in Italy for Round Nine of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship with renewed confidence and ready to do battle right to the end for the championship. The Welshman will be hoping that recent results, combined with Ducati’s ‘home advantage’ at the Riviera di Rimini Round, can push him back to the top of the rostrum.

Absent altogether from the podium in five of the eight races prior to Laguna Seca, Davies fought back in style with two second places, pole position in Race One and the fastest lap of the weekend. That first win since MotorLand Aragon has still eluded the 31-year-old, but the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli looks like an ideal place to put an end to his negative streak.

Davies has a personal best of third place at Misano, but last year he was leading the race going into the final corners. A dramatic fall by Davies at Turn 14 led to a terrifying collision between the rider and Jonathan Rea’s (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) bike which kept the Ducati man out of Race 2. With that incident behind him, however, the good remains: Davies has the pace at Misano to beat anyone.

“I think our past results there have yet to reflect our speed despite the fact that it probably isn't the best track for us”, admits Davies. “In recent years, we always proved to be competitive and had good pace”.

The Welshman believes that the weather will be a critical aspect to be taken into account in both races: “It's going to be a hot weekend, and tyre management will be crucial. It's also important to go into the summer break with good results and good momentum, so hopefully we'll use the home factor to our advantage”.

Watch Davies attempt to grab his first Riviera di Rimini Round win this weekend thanks to the WorldSBK VideoPass.