After three consecutive podiums at the Laguna Seca circuit before the summer break, Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) picked up where he left off and took a second position at Portimao during the first World Superbike race of the weekend on Saturday afternoon. The Welshman fought his way through the pack – to the cost of his teammate on the opening lap – and found himself right in the thick of the podium battle.

Starting from 12^th on the grid, Davies had given himself a mountain to climb on the hills of Portimao, starting from way out of position, although he’d not indicated that he could run at podium pace throughout the weekend. But once the race beckoned, a feisty Davies surrendered to nobody and by the end of Lap 1, he was up to fourth. Making short work of Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), Davies was up to second.

Speaking after the race, Davies couldn’t believe his comeback: “I am so happy with that result. I think with that Tissot Superpole – putting myself 12^th on the grid – I’d have bitten your arm off for that result. I was thinking that realistically, top five would be good, especially given how tricky it is to pass around here.

“I just made a really good first lap, was aggressive and made the passes stick, and from then on in, I went forwards.”

It wasn’t as straightforward as remaining in second however, as Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) – on a similar comeback of his own from tenth on the grid – passed the Welshman right around the outside at the final corner, only for Davies to blast back ahead on the straight, where he would stay until the chequered flag.

The 32-year-old edges closer to the battle for third place, making up plenty of ground on the Yamaha pairing of Michael van der Mark and his teammate, Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team). Davies is 27 points adrift of van der Mark in third with 11 races left in 2019.

Will Davies be able to go one position better this weekend? Find out with the WorldSBK VideoPass!