Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/824646
IN THE WIND P32 DAVIES DOUBLES UP IN IMOLA WORLDSBK A s far as race day excitement and theater was concerned, few places on the planet offer as much of feel-good factor and fan engagement as Imola. The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari is Ducati's home ground, and it also happens to suit the Ducati's great corner acceleration, and on the many curving straights, it is no top-speed slouch, either. For Chaz Davies, Imola was a happy hunting ground in all possible ways, as he got the rock-star treatment before, dur- ing and after his two wins, May 13-14. And he gave his rivals the brush-off even after starting race two—both attempts at it—from ninth positions each time. When asked if his results were a validation of his and his team's efforts at last, Davies said, "I think today was a validation. Kawasaki has raised the game this year and so have we. We tuned up this year, very domi- nant at the end of last year, but things have moved on. You only have to look here at the distance to other bikes, which is pretty substantial. The two manufactur- ers are pushing each other and the two riders are pushing each other, so it is a good validation of our test at Aragon, and the road that we went down when the bike felt good at the test at Aragon was basically as the bike is now." Davies won by 6.696 sec- onds and 3.739 seconds, respectively, and ahead of Jonathan Rea and KRT each time. He now has 23 career race wins. With Davies on pole, Tom Sykes (KRT) was second and Rea third, but in race two Sykes was pole, because he was only fourth in race one, with unex- pected grip issues compared to practice. Two second places for Rea in the races were the best he could do in Italy, but he made improvements to his setup, and despite a too soft prototype front tire from Pirelli for his particular riding style, he still made up ground in Davies in race two. "Second place is never a di- saster and, honestly, I am really happy because I feel like I rode the best I could today," Rea said. "The bike was working as best it could. But the things we really need to improve will take some time to arrive. We arrive at some more flowing circuits soon, which will suit us—me and the bike—a lot more." Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Ducati) was third in the first race podium fight, with Sykes not able to pass on the final lap. He was not his old self in race two and still feels there is something missing from his sharpness, mainly full confidence in his front end. Hence, even at the Ducati- friendly Imola, he is still behind the real big three. So far only Rea (seven) and Davies (three) have won races but Sykes has been only 0.025 seconds off. Race two's fourth place for Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Ducati) was a truly great result, beating Marco Melandri to fourth place in a last corner hold-off. He had been fifth in race one, proving beyond a doubt that Imola is Ducati Alley. Another remarkably adept PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE