After an eventful first lap in Race 1 at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider Chaz Davies was left with 20 laps to stage an incredible comeback, ending the first race at Misano in the top 4. Race 2 saw the Ducati rider lowside out early on, with Honda’s Michael van der Mark unable to avoid contact with the fallen Welshman and losing his Fireblade. Van der Mark remounted to fight back into the top ten, but Davies was forced to retire.

After his form earlier in the season saw Davies emerge once again as the main rival to Jonathan Rea in his title defence, costly points losses in Donington and at Misano have seen the Welshman head to Laguna Seca with a 99 point deficit to the reigning WorldSBK Champion in the title standings.

“I’m disappointed because all weekend we’ve had good pace but we’ve not been able to reap the rewards,” lamented the Ducati rider. “Yesterday victory was within our reach, and today we were ready to fight back but further away. The crash is difficult to explain because I didn’t feel that I was on the limit and we had the same speed and lean angle, but that’s racing. I’ve not suffered any big physical effects – my right wrist hurts but I’m hoping I’ll be back at 100% to fight back in Laguna.”

After two weekends off, WorldSBK gets back on track to battle it out on American soil at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on the 8^th-10^th July for Round 9; the last chance to score some more points before the summer break.