The 2017 WorldSBK Championship resumed action at Misano Adriatico (Italy) for the seventh round of the season and second “home race” for the Aruba.it Racing - Ducati team after Imola. Building on the data collected during a two-day test on the Italian track earlier this month, Chaz Davies closed Friday’s free-practice in fourth place. He constantly fought among the frontrunners but he wasn’t able to improve his lap time in hotter conditions during FP2. Chaz closed the day respectively 0.349 seconds behind the provisional best time, gaining direct access to Superpole.

"Today has been a bit more difficult than what we expected. I still don’t feel totally at ease on the bike, we need to work on the setup. In the test done here a couple of weeks ago we were a bit more competitive, but weather conditions were different today, hotter and more humid, and we struggled a bit more to make good lap times. In particular, I don't have enough confidence with the front, and we’re on the limit with grip. We also need to tweak a few things with the electronics" - Chaz Davies

Day 2, Race 1 of the 2017 WorldSBK Championship at Misano Adriatico (Italy) did not yield the expected results for the Aruba.it Racing - Ducati team. After a long and exciting battle for the win, Davies crashed out during the last lap at turn 4 and 14 respectively. Davies, who couldn’t finish the race and was taken to the medical centre instead. He was diagnosed with a closed thoracic trauma, and was then transported by ambulance to Rimini to undergo a CAT scan, which showed a fracture of the transverse process of L3 (3rd lumbar vertebra). Further examinations also indicate a contusion of the left thumb. Davies did not take part in Race 2 and will observe a period of rest before being re-examined ahead of the Laguna Seca round.

“ while we’re deeply saddened by what happened to Chaz. He will now observe a rest period, but he has a strong character and I’m sure he’ll tackle it with the same mettle he’s racing with.” - Ernesto Marinelli, Superbike Project Director

Day 2, Race 2. Declared unfit to race Chaz Davies watched the race from the pits after being discharged from the hospital. The Welshman will now observe a period of rest with the intention to be back on track for the eighth round of the season, scheduled for July 7-9 at Laguna Seca (U.S.).

"It’s never ideal to be at the track and not be able to race, but it's good to come to support and honestly I’m happy to be here because it could have been a lot worse. I don’t feel 100 percent, so we’ll focus on recovering in the upcoming days. Tomorrow I’ll visit a specialist and we’ll set a plan based on his recommendations. The goal is be back at Laguna Seca.” - Chaz Davies

 

The end of round 7 sees Chaz sitting at third in the overall championship standings, 111 points behind leader Rea. The next round will be 7th - 9th July at Laguna Seca (U.S.).

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