15th to 5th: Davies' miraculous Race 2 recovery
Three podiums for ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati at Phillip Island but work to do for Davies even after strong Race 2 result
It was a mixed weekend for Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati). After qualifying 16th out of 18 riders for Race 1 in Tissot Superpole, he fought his way through the field to finish in eighth place. Davies was unable to secure a top nine spot in the Tissot Superpole Race as he finished 13th, meaning he started 15th for Race 2.
Race 2 for the Yamaha Finance Australia Round was where Davies was able to show his pace on the Ducati machine teammate Scott Redding would take to the podium three times. British rider Davies finished fifth and kept in contention with the lead group throughout the race. The result displayed plenty of positives for Davies as he looks forward to the rest of the season.
Discussing the second race of the weekend, Davies said: “The high temperatures brought different challenges and a change in pace. For me, it was obviously starting really far back, the important thing was to try and get away well which didn’t really happen. But then the group didn’t really get too far away, the guys were controlling the pace at the front so that allowed me to stay there. The problem was it was a pretty wild race and it was getting split up at times. You’d lose 50 metres then have to use a bit of tyre just to get back to the group. Then something else would happen and you’d lose another 20 or 30m, then you’d have burn up a bit of rubber to get back to the group. It was good to see the leaders. It’s been a tough weekend; it was good to have the leaders in my sight. A lot to work on – I’m not super happy with the result, not super happy with the feeling I had around here. Nonetheless it was good to finish on a more positive note.”
Davies will be pleased to know he can get results even when he isn’t completely happy with the bike, and it will give him and the team a boost knowing the bike can reach the podium as it did with Redding consistently. Even with things to work on to improve the feeling of the bike for Davies, he and the team can take positives the WorldSBK season moves on to Qatar.
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