Thanks to a double win by Chaz Davies, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team sealed a memorable weekend in Magny-Cours (France), home of the 11th round of the WorldSBK championship. The Welshman, who already took the top step of the podium in a hectic Race 1, crossed the finish line in first position once again in sunny conditions to secure his 7th win of the year.
Starting in third place, Davies quickly pulled away from the field together with the Kawasaki riders Sykes and Rea. His gap from the front never exceeded two seconds and, thanks to a constant pace in the mid 1’38 mark, Davies cut the deficit with five laps to go. After passing both rivals at turn 5 during lap 17, the Welshman posted his fastest lap (1:38.185) to build a gap that allowed him to take the victory. With two rounds left, Davies is now 33 points away from 2nd position in the championship.
Davide Giugliano, who was declared unfit due to the worsening conditions of his right shoulder, did not race and is already back in Italy to undergo physiotherapy ahead of next round. The Italian rider currently sits in 6th position in the championship (194 points). The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will resume action on October 14 in Jerez (Spain) for the penultimate round of the season.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) 1st
“It wasn’t easy at all today. I took the opportunity when it came, but honestly I didn’t think it was going to happen. I was struggling early on, doing the same pace as on Friday in the mid 1’38 mark. I was also finding it hard to pass the Kawasakis, as I couldn’t see where to do it unless I took a big risk, so I had to let the race come to me a little bit. It did eventually, and as Jonathan and Tom pushed each other wide at the hairpin, I just took the opportunity and dropped the hammer to put some distance in between myself and them. It’s been one of the most important weekends of my career, because we won in very different conditions, reaping the fruits of a lot of hard work with the whole team.”
Ernesto Marinelli, Superbike Project Director
“It’s been undoubtedly a fantastic weekend for us. Chaz really made a difference in both races. Yesterday, he showed poise in very tricky conditions and today he managed the situation flawlessly early on, when we knew we had a small disadvantage. Seven wins are an important result, which repays the hard work of all the people on track and at Ducati, to all of which we owe a big thank you! We’ll try our best to score a few more in the four races left, with both our riders.”
