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Round 7: The WorldSBK Boys Keep On Going!

The boys were back in the saddles again this weekend for the seventh round which was being held at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, for the Pirelli French Round of the Championship. The team arrived to prepare and practice, but it was quickly noticeable that the racing conditions were going to heavily feature rain, unlike the last few races that went very well for both Davies and Redding.

The first day of free practice was heavily characterized by the rain, it meant having to get used to a new track for Redding and adjusting to the wet asphalt for them all. As well as the weather, both were trying out the new rear tires supplied by Pirelli which by the end of the afternoon, led to Davies finding good feelings and consistency on the pace. They finished the free practice respectively in P7 (Redding) and P11 (Davies), hopeful for some opportunities to improve in Race One.

Qualifying and Race One followed suit like free practice with the rain falling heavily over the track. A difficult qualifying session meant that Davies and Redding had to settle for P9 and P10 on the grid, but with the determination they both carry, they managed to improve on this within the race! Davies got off to a good start that allowed him to climb three positions immediately. Gerloff (Yamaha) had a crash on lap nine, meaning Davies could shoot past and chase the other Yamaha teammate Van Der Mark. With them making two mistakes, it meant that Davies managed to get into and hold onto 4th position for the rest of the race.

Redding suffered a lot more in the first half of the race, struggling to get enough grip to push himself to the max to get through the competition ahead of him. As the track started to dry by lap nine, he managed to improve his race immensely by first overtaking Rinaldi and managing to recover almost three seconds. He then managed to get past Razgatlioglu (Yahama) after gaining those important seconds, and finally getting hold of 5th position in the final lap thanks to Haslam (Honda) making an error.

"I am happy for this result. The feeling with the bike was very good and for this, I am particularly satisfied. Maybe I could have pushed harder but for me, it was fundamental not to make mistakes and to take important points to increase the advantage over Van Der Mark and consolidate the third position in the standings".  Chaz Davies on Race One

Race Two was a very different story for both Redding and Davies, Redding starting off in P4 after a stubborn comeback in the SuperPole race. Redding got off to a very strong start in comparison to the first race, attacking Rea (Kawasaki) on lap four to take the lead. He kept a truly strong race pace for the entirety, finishing first very comfortably and stopping Rea from getting his sixth consecutive title.

Davies started in P5 and he had a constant progression, overtaking Rinaldi (Ducati) on lap nine and started working towards the leading group. Between laps 11 and 14, Davies managed to recover two seconds from Rea, overtaking him with only seven laps left to go and defended himself to end up on the podium. A great result in the end with Davies finishing in third position, meaning both Aruba.it boys were on the podium once again!