Chaz bemoans tough weekend
Chaz Davies cut a frustrated figure following a World Superbike round to forget in Spain.
The Mid Wales rider could only muster a best finish of seventh at Jerez and was left angry after a collision with former Aruba.it Racing-Ducati team-mate Marco Melandri left him with a DNF during Sunday’s final race.
Davies, 32, from Presteigne, had also come 10th during the earlier points-scoring Superpole and the results from his three races saw him drop two positions to eighth on 94 points after six rounds.
His team-mate Alvaro Bautista is still leading the table with 300 points, 41 more than reigning champion Jonathan Rea.
Davies said: “I was quite aware this was going to be a difficult weekend but I was hoping that with a good mindset I could have got some decent results.
“On this type of circuit, with many longish corners, I was really far away with the set-up. I had a vibration issue with the bike in the Superpole race but then the guys did a great job to give me a good bike for the last race, where at least I could ride it OK.
“But then I got caught up in the incident with Melandri at turn five. I’m OK, I just picked up a big bruise on the hip and the side of the leg.” Davies, who had started Sunday’s main race 12th on the grid, was making a good recovery when a contact at turn five on the sixth lap with Yamaha’s Melandri eliminated both of them from the battle for fourth. Davies had also been unable to get among the fight for the leading positions during Saturday’s opening race.
Starting from 11th place on the grid, he struggled throughout with his bike and set up, ending the race in seventh.
Davies added: “Saturday was a tough one. After not getting a particularly good start, in the early laps the feeling with the bike wasn’t very good and I struggled to get into the rhythm. Then, in the middle part of the race, I found myself a bit behind the group fighting for fifth but couldn’t catch them. The only positive aspect is that it was useful to do 20 laps in these conditions, which allowed us to get a lot of information.”
Round seven takes place in two weeks’ time at Misano, Italy, June 21 to 23.
