DAVIES NEAR PERFECT
TO HEAL OLD WOUNDS
T
he contrast between the Chaz
Davies that left Imola with two
WorldSBK winner trophies in
2016 and the double no-finisher at
the same venue in 2015 could not
have been more stark, or more
joyous this time around.
At Ducati's home track, on a
bike that now works well at any
track if you get the tire choices
right, Davies headed up nearly
every session.
He left with a Superpole win—
only the second of his whole
career—50 more points, the new
lap record and a new fastest lap.
And he left his opponents
unsure of what to do to beat him
when he is in this kind of form.
He was not just imperious; he
was in control from the start of
race weekend, halting the Rea
bandwagon in its tracks and
cutting the championship lead to
35 points.
"I guess people prefer you
when you win!" Davies said.
"Italian fans are a little bit differ-
ent. They are a bit crazy but their
heart is massive. Their pas-
sion, especially with Ducati, is
something different to any other
brand, I believe. It is something
special to race here in front of
them and even better to win it."
Rea and his fickle new Kawa-
saki had no answers and even
when it looked like he could
maybe hold behind Davies and
hope for an error, the errors
came from his own electronics
package. He had mysterious
cutout, the second in race two
so severe that he was ready to
reset the whole system after it
IN
THE
WIND
P40
This was as close as
the competition got to
Davies, who positively
rubbed their noses in
it at Imola.
