They say that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Chaz Davies will certainly be hoping that this isn’t the case.
The Welshman has had a turbulent start to the 2018 World Superbike season, but after four rounds he finds himself closer to Jonathan Rea in the standings than any recent season.
Davies has been able to win twice already this season, in Buriram and Aragon, and sits 30 points behind Rea. After four rounds he’ll have every reason to feel that this year he could finally be in a position to mount a season long title assault.
A tire issue at Assen robbed him of pace in Race 2, but he has proven again that he, and Ducati, are the only realistic opposition to Rea’s quest for a fourth title.
“Race 2 in Assen wasn’t easy,” said the Ducati star. “I had a lot of problems. We changed the setup for the second race, but even at the start of the race, I was struggling with the grip at full lean on exit corner.”
“Later in the race I had a lot of issues with the tire vibrating. I’m sure the tire was a problem, and we’ll have to figure it out. All I could do was be safe and try to finish the race.”
“We had problems in Assen, but our base is good. We just have to learn to find a solution to problems in the future.”
The future will begin at Imola, where Davies has won the last four races. In The Netherlands, he’ll feel that he gave up crucial points to Rea, and that the momentum swung in the Northern Irishman’s favor, but Imola is a change to counter punch.
Significant regulation changes made over the winter have clearly helped improve the competitive balance of WorldSBK, and Davies has been a big winner.
Despite crashing out of the lead in Australia, and the issues at Assen, there has been a mammoth 54 points swing relative to Rea compared to last year.
“The gaps between the bikes are really tight this year. Johnny’s been off the podium twice, and that seems about as much as he’s been off the podium in the last few years at Kawasaki!”
“Something has changed for sure in WorldSBK, even though I’m not seeing big differences on track, compared to the past. Some bikes have improved, to be battling with Leon Camier on the Honda in Thailand is a good example, because you can see how much that bike has come on.”
“We’ve been pegged back a bit, but they’ve also made big steps. The Yamaha was strong last year, and it’s actually interesting to see how the different bikes work on the track.”
“I feel like our package is really solid, but it’s different to last year. We had good top-end power last year, I could pull out and pass a Yamaha on the straight.”
“This year in Thailand though, I had to rely on them having sub-par corner exits, and me nailing the exit, just to get the draft on them. Without that I couldn’t do anything about them. I’d just sit behind both of them. I couldn’t actually go around them in the slip stream.”
“It’s definitely different, but I think the advantage that we have right now is experience with our package. Our bike has been at a good level now for a few years. I think that is probably what’s just keeping us a little bit ahead, and with the rest still finding their feet.”
“When you have guys like Leon, who have got a new bike, it means that they’re going to be changing things a lot more. Our package, in comparison, is a little bit more refined.”
“I feel like that’s probably our trump card at the minute. It might not necessarily be that we’ve got more speed or better acceleration or anything like that, but we have got have a massive bank of data on a really solid package.”
With Ducati in the final year of the v-twin Panigale, Davies will know that it’s crucial to make that knowledge count in the coming rounds.
Imola has been a “red circuit” in recent years, and it is expected that with the changes to RPM limits for 2018 that the differences between Kawasaki and Ducati will be exaggerated.
It will be key to win the races, where you are the favorite and to steal points from your rivals at your weaker tracks. Aiding Davies in this quest is that for the first time in his Ducati career the weight of expectation isn’t solely on his shoulders.
Marco Melandri and Xavi Fores have enjoyed strong starts to the year. The Italian won twice in Australia, and Fores has been fast at every round. The Spaniard has been the surprise package of the season on his Barni machine.
“I feel like last year Marco was really close at times, and at certain tracks he was faster than me, and this year Xavi Fores has also shown a lot of progress. Xavi is really putting it together a good year and it’s good for everyone at Ducati.”
“He’s got the same bike as us and he’s doing a really good job of what he’s on now. Now that we’re back in Europe we’ll see what happens but if I can learn something from Marco and Xavi it’s for the better.”
“They’ve been looking at my data for years now and hopefully now I can learn something off them.”
In addition to the trio of red bikes at the European rounds, Michael Ruben Rinaldi will also be on the grid. With potentially four fast Ducatis on the grid, it offers Davies the prospect of Rea’s bad days being punished heavier than in the past.
That can only be a good thing for Davies’ title chances, and as a result his bargaining position to the 2018 season. The 29-time race-winner however is adamant that he won’t be distracted this year by the inevitable discussions about his future.
“I’m not thinking at all about my future. That’s the last thing to be concentrating on when it’s time to race. I’ve got a manager for that reason, and I hired him so that I wouldn’t have to be involved in negotiations during a race weekend.”
“It’s obviously important and I’ve always thought it’s better just to get it done and dusted early, particularly when you’re in a position to fight for a championship.”
“For next year, there’s a lot of good riders are out of contract so there could potentially be a big shake-up next year across the board in MotoGP and WorldSBK, but my goal is to remain focused on what we’re doing now.”
Keeping a clear head and being focused on the end game will be key for Davies in the coming rounds.
He’ll go to Imola as the firm favorite to win both races but, as we’ve seen so far in 2018, the competitive balance of WorldSBK has certainly shifted.
Photos: © 2017-2018 Steve English – All Rights Reserved
