“I’ve had to pinch myself leaving Imola in the past.” That’s how Chaz Davies sums up his relationship with the Italian circuit and the Ducatisti in a few short words.
Winning four races in a row at an Italian circuit on an Italian bike will make for some great memories. Unfortunately for the Welshman, he hasn’t looked like adding to those memories this season.
The switch to the Panigale V4 R has seen a shift in power within the Ducati garages. In the past, Davies was the undisputed leader for the Bologna factory, but since Round 1 in Australia, he’s been playing second fiddle to his teammate, Alvaro Bautista.
While the Spaniard is unbeaten, Davies has been struggling. Qualifying on the third row has put him at a disadvantage on race days, but that being said, there has been reason for some optimism of late.
Two podiums in Aragon and decent pace in Assen shows he’s making progress, so what’s been the issue? Injuries and adapting to lots of changes.
“It was a winter with lots changes, and we had a lot to understand and to learn from,” explains Davies. “It took a while to iron out my injuries from last year, and then I twinged my back in winter testing.”
“With a new bike that wasn’t ideal, because in November testing, I was being given painkilling injections just to be able to get on track. I had a new crew chief to learn too. Even though we’ve worked together for five years – he was my suspension engineer – he’s had to learn about how to cross over to be a crew chief for this year after a lifetime of suspension.”
“In terms of the bike, the V4 is completely different to the twin. With the old bike, you felt a lot of the pulses from the engine through your hands and your feet. I remember jumping on that bike in 2013, and I was asking whether it was right to feel as much as I did!”
“Now after five seasons with that bike it became second nature to have those feelings, so jumping on the V4 feels completely different. You don’t feel those pulses now and the bike feels like it’s been numbed down a bit.”
“That’s a very basic difference, but from riding this bike, the first thing that was obvious was just how race-focused it is. There’s not a lot of movement, there’s a lot less flex compared to the old bike.”
Davies continues: “You need to learn and understand that stiffness, and I’ve had to adapt my style because it had become very ingrained in me and the style needed for the twin. Now I’m having to adapt to the new bike.”
“In terms of the power character of this bike, it’s a lot fuller. It revs higher and has a bit more down low in the rev range. With the old bike we always struggled to get more from the top end power, while maintaining the torque of the twin-cylinder layout. That was always a trade off for us; you could never have both.”
“The V4 has the top and bottom. It’s got a bigger rev range. The old bike was getting older, but it was well developed. It definitely feels very different with this bike and I’m still trying to understand it, but the laptime hasn’t jumped on, so it’s just going to take some time to fully find my feet with the V4.”
Adapting his riding style has been an issue for Davies, and one that he admits will take time to master. The former World Supersport champion is a rider who admits to needing to fully understand a bike before he can get the most out of it. Recalling his early days with Ducati, Davies says:
“I’ve not had a style of riding ingrained in me by the twin. I think that it’s in my character, that I’ve always been a rider who needed to learn the bike and would take my time to understand what I need from the bike. That’s taken me time to understand in the past, and now after five years with the twin I think it’s natural that it’ll take some time to figure out this new bike.”
“I’ve been riding the twin for a long time and from when I joined Ducati in 2014, it was really important for me to have that continuity of staying with the same bike for a few years. I know that it takes time for me to fully figure it out and I knew in 2014 it’d take a season for me to be fully dialed in.”
“It’s easy to get it figured out at the end of the season, but by then it’s too late, I’m in that position now with the V4 too. I’m at the start of a two year contract for the V4 and I expect to grow as the project progresses.”
Making progress will be key this weekend, because with Bautista on a run of 11 wins in a row, Davies will know that the clock is ticking for him to start winning races. He’s also adamant that he won’t be pressing the panic button just yet though.
“The championship as a whole looks good with manufacturers returning as full factory efforts. All the heavy hitters are here with factory support and that’s a big step. There’s good riders on good bikes, and the championship is healthy.”
“The problem that we have at the minute is that Alvaro has come in and is dominating; that’s not good because it makes people look at the rider level and question it, but I think that it’s been a perfect storm for Alvaro to come in.”
“He’s got confidence, he’s got a great bike and a great team and he’s done a great job. He’s definitely making us look average at the minute, but I don’t think he can go much faster. The racing has been good behind him and now we have to bridge that gap back to him.”
“I’m a very competitive person, but Alvaro hasn’t been my focus for this year. He’s killing it and changing the face of this championship, but I’m not looking at him and getting frustrated. That’s probably a bit unlike me to be honest, because I’m usually so competitive, but I’m mostly worried about myself and getting the most I can from myself and this bike.”
“If I leave a track and feel that I’ve gotten everything from myself and the bike was setup perfectly and I’m still being beaten…that’s when I’ll look across the garage and start thinking about Alvaro. We’re progressing with the bike and until I hit that wall I’ll be focused on myself. I just want to get the best out of myself and figure out everything.”
Having a test at Imola in the build-up to this weekend should help Davies to hit the ground running, and he should be hopeful of closing the gap to his teammate this weekend. Round five of the season sees us enter the middle of third of the season, and Imola couldn’t come at a better time for the 32-year-old.
“Imola is probably my favourite race of the season now. When you turn up there you feel like a rock star, because there’s a lot of people and they love Ducati. They appreciate what I’ve done over the years. Imola is special. It’s a track that I’ve had good results at in the past but it’s the atmosphere around the place that’s really special.”
“You can feel how much the Italian’s love Ducati, and also I can feel how much they love what I’ve done for them. Imola is different to Misano, it’s only at Imola that I really feel that buzz.”
‘I’ve been lucky to have good results there in the past and after winning in Italy in front of the Ducati factory and the fans, I pinch myself because it means so much. The pressures on and when you’re able to come out the other side with a double win, it’s very special.”
At the moment the pressure on Davies is arguably even greater than when he was winning races at the Italian track. When you’re winning races your confidence is high.
When your teammate is winning the pressure increases and you spend your time searching for answers and solutions. Davies is under pressure to deliver, but he can look back to 2016 and 2017 for inspiration – where he took pole and did the double.
Photos: Ducati Corse
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