After being hampered by a technical issue in Race 1, Chaz Davies bounced back with a dominant win in Race 2 of eleventh round of the WorldSBK Championship at Magny Cours (France). The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team thus seized its 8th overall win of the season.
In tricky conditions, with a light rain falling intermittently on different sections of the track, the Welshman built his win (the 27th of his career) in the early laps, when he was the only rider capable of lapping in the 1:38 mark after a blistering start from 11th position. Davies had thus built a 5-second gap at half-way point, then managed it skillfully until the checkered flag.
Marco Melandri, on the other hand, faced an uphill race after not being able to take part to WUP in the morning due to a technical issue, which prevented him from verifying the changes made to the setup of his bike. The Italian got off to a strong start, but struggled to recover ground in the traffic due to rear-grip issues. Despite improving his performance progressively, as shown by his personal fastest lap at the very end, Melandri had to settle for fifth position.
After ten rounds, Davies (327 points) and Melandri (281 points) are respectively third and fourth in the championship. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will resume action at Jerez de la Frontera (Spain) for the penultimate round of the championship, scheduled for October 20-22.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 1st
“Yesterday was bitter, but today was sweet. This is the best way to put behind us a couple of tough races. I woke up feeling really motivated and I think it showed in the opening laps, as I was making passes and got to the front pretty quickly from 11th position. It wasn’t an easy race though. The rain was on and off throughout, and it was hard to tell where the wet patches could be. It was a matter of pushing hard but not too much, just enough to keep the gap in check, and that’s what we did. Now we’re looking forward to the last two races, the hunt for second position in the championship is still open and we can be fast both in Jerez and Qatar.”
Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33) – 5th
“It’s been a positive weekend overall. The conditions were not easy and we took home a good amount of points, but to finish with your worst result is never ideal. Today’s weather could have created an occasion for us, but we weren’t lucky during WUP, when a technical problem prevented us from going out. After changing the bike, despite keeping the same setup, I didn’t have the same feeling. I struggled with grip since the start of the race, especially coming out of slow corners, and lost contact with the front. Now we head to Jerez, a track that I really like, and the goal stays the same: to take the top step of the podium.”
Stefano Cecconi, Aruba CEO and Team Principal
“After yesterday’s difficulties, Chaz showed great character bouncing back with an emotional win, especially given the tricky conditions. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as well today with Marco. After being forced to skip WUP, he couldn’t find the best feeling during the race. We’ll keep working as hard as possible to get both of them on the podium at Jerez.”
