Chaz Davies is confident he can continue his upturn in form aboard the Aruba.it Ducati Panigale V4 R as he looks to shine on his team’s home soil in Imola.
The three-time runner-up in WorldSBK has endured a tough start to the 2019 season as he continues to get to grips with the new generation Ducati V4, taking until round three to crack the top five. By contrast, new team-mate and WSBK rookie Alvaro Bautista has shown tremendous form on the bike, scoring 11 wins from 11 starts this year.
However, podiums in Assen and Aragon have seen Davies climb to sixth in the overall standings, while the Welshman has an excellent record in Imola with double wins in 2017 and 2016.
Indeed, while Davies says the characteristics of the V4 means he is largely starting from scratch this weekend, a return to the winners’ circle remains the target.
“I’m looking forward to Imola, it’s the home race for the Aruba team and for Ducati. We’ve had two quite good weekends in succession now, so hopefully we can put together the best of what we learned there and in testing to put on a good race. I’m quite optimistic, because I’m starting to have a good feeling now on the bike.
“Historically Imola’s been a good track for me, it suits me and my style but we can’t rely on that because we need to keep working on our weaknesses with the Panigale V4 R. The people here are always so enthusiastic and winning at Imola is like nowhere else so that’s the objective this weekend.”
