Chaz Davies cannot hide his excitement with the progress the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team has made, having tested at Misano this week. The Welshman was due to ride for the whole of Monday and Tuesday, but was relegated to the sidelines after just 45 minutes due to a back injury. He is now set to undergo a scan to find out more, but believes the suffering may be a result of a strict training programme to improve upper-body strength.

WorldSBK.com spoke with Davies at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

Chaz, how did the test go?
I only did 14 laps but the feeling was really good. Great, actually, because I didn’t expect to go out and be so fast immediately. By the time I had done 12 laps, I was already faster than I was in the last race here and also the last test here, so it was a nice surprise for me. I’m really happy because we’ve found something really important to give me the feeling that I like.

Why have you been off the bike for most of the test?
Unfortunately, while I was on the bike I felt a small pain in my back. That then increased very quickly to a lot of pain. I’m really disappointed about that because I was really happy for the first 45 minutes yesterday (Monday) morning and then I’ve basically had to spend two days doing nothing. I had a small problem with my back and I need to fix that.

We still have Germany, France, Spain and Qatar to go. Excited?
It will be the usual for World Superbike - there will be some great battles! I feel really confident at the moment. We have really turned a corner with my bike and the whole package. I’m really happy to have found what we have found here. I’m confident, very excited and very motivated for the last four rounds of the season.

We have spoken about the remainder of the season, but what about 2016 so far?
Honestly, below expectations. We’ve had too many difficult races – and not only difficult races but some really difficult weekends in general, for a few different reasons. However, I now think we really understand why that happened. It’s important that we have learned the reasons. For sure, some races this year have been fantastic, but there’s also been many in which I haven’t felt 100%. I have often felt only at 95%, but now I think we understand why.

Since Laguna Seca it has been announced that Marco Melandri will return to WorldSBK as your team-mate next year. What are you feelings on this change?
It’s good. It’s the second time I will be team-mate to Marco. 2013 (with BMW) and now. His credentials speak for themselves. He has been away from riding a race bike for over a year, but a top rider doesn’t forget how to ride. I think Marco will be there and one of the top riders next year. He will be a strong team-mate, which is also good for me because Davide (Giugliano) has been a strong team-mate for the last three years and it’s always good for me to have a strong team-mate. It raises the level of the team.

Have you spoken with Marco about how the bike feels?
We spoke a bit on Monday. His first impressions were similar to my first comments when I first rode the Panigale. I didn’t see him as much on today (Tuesday), but when we spoke on Monday he seemed fairly happy.