When he signed to Ducati on a two-year deal last season Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing- Ducati WSBK) always knew that 2015 would be the year he could go for a hatful of wins and possibly the world championship itself.
Even though Jonathan Rea may be running away from everybody on his Kawasaki in the championship, and despite two brief but costly episodes in Thailand (11th and 15th places after crashes and restarts), Davies’ year old prediction of happy times ahead has been coming true.
So far, on the best days, Chaz has netted one historic Panigale win, three second places and two seriously close thirds (in Australia) that may well have been wins on another day.
The double technical failure of his bike at Imola changed the complexion of Davies’ mid season push, as he dropped from third to fourth in the championship, behind early-season struggler, Tom Sykes (KRT).
What better way to get your big red desmo mojo back then, than going from your manufacturer’s home round at Imola to the warm embrace your own home round at Donington? No better way, of course, but there are some caveats that Davies has already taken into consideration.
Previous results at Donington Park in recent WSBK seasons, is the main one.
“Donington next,” said Chaz at Imola, “which has always been tricky for me on a Superbike, so we will see. I have never had great results there but I will approach it as I always do and try to make up for that.”
Of his previous 20 career WSB podiums, including five wins on three different types of machinery, Davies has not scored one at Donington yet. His best finishes have been two fifth places in 2014 – but the good news is that they were delivered on a Panigale that was nowhere near as potent and consistent as his 2015 version. As well as that confidence-building fact, Davies has recently scored two second places at Assen, which was previously not one of his favorite venues. Fifth was his previous Assen best, too.
