Davies left ‘completely empty’, but ‘proud’ of comeback performance

A ‘completely empty’ Chaz Davies claims a best finish of ninth in San Juan WorldSBK race two; ‘At one point I thought I might catch Locatelli, but I was completely empty, I put everything into it. I really suffered physically’.

Robert Jones

21 Oct 2021

Chaz Davies, Argentine WorldSBK race1, 16 October 2021
© Gold and Goose

After being sidelined for two full WorldSBK race weekends, Chaz Davies returned at San Juan to claim a best of ninth in race two.

The opening two races saw Davies struggle to challenge the top ten runners, however, a more consistent race pace in Sunday’s final feature race allowed the GoEleven Ducati rider to pick up several positions late on.

That included the likes of both Honda riders Alvaro Bautista and Leon Haslam, while also getting the better of Tito Rabat, who enjoyed a much better weekend for Puccetti Kawasaki.

But although Davies had envisions of gaining even further positions, a ‘completely empty’ Ducati rider had to settle for ninth - his first top ten result in over a month.

Speaking after Sunday’s double-header, Davies added: "This morning the feeling was a little bit better than yesterday, physically I mean.

"I was able to go quite fast for a couple of laps, but I still had to manage the races. In the Superpole race, I found myself on the outside in turn one as a consequence of my grid position, and basically I got taken a little bit wide.

"My pace was good at the end, and I felt good with the bike, but I was way too far back. Then we made some small changes for the second race, and with Alex Lowes out of the starting grid it meant we moved up a grid position which was much better.

"I was on the inside instead of the outside which made a big difference to my first lap. My start wasn't great, but I was still with a good group at the beginning.

"At one point I thought I might catch Locatelli, but I was completely empty, I put everything into it.

"I really suffered physically, but I’m satisfied with the job we did, satisfied with how the bike felt, I know it's capable of more, but with the physical limitations, that's our pace at the moment.

"I think we can be quite proud of that ride and thanks to the team, to all the guys, and I am sorry for not feeling a little bit better and giving a bit more, but now we have a few weeks break which is a good opportunity to come back fit again!"

With a month’s wait until the season finale in Indonesia, Davies will be hoping to arrive fully fit and produce similar results to that of his replacement in Jerez and Portimao, Loris Baz - MotoAmerica rider finished every race inside the top ten - including a double podium.