Davies gutted as ‘big opportunity’ scuppered by tech issues

Chaz Davies says he is ‘massively disappointed’ to miss out on a redeeming victory on Aruba.it Ducati’s home soil after an electrical problem prevented him from capitalising on his stunning pole position run.

On a weekend that has seen Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea largely dominate, it was Davies that nonetheless took the fight to the four-time WorldSBK champion by snatching pole position at Imola with an inch-perfect run.

At a time when Davies’ two podiums this season pale into comparison to new team-mate Alvaro Bautista’s 11 straight wins, the Welshman was confident of giving his season a significant boost come the race.

However, after losing the lead to Rea on lap one, Davies’ race lasted only a few more corners before electrical problems struck and forced him to retire into the pits.

“I’m massively disappointed because I saw today as a big opportunity,” he lamented. “I felt a big improvement with the bike from yesterday, the crew did a fantastic job and we made another step forward. I did a record lap in Superpole, was looking forward to fighting with Johnny and putting the bike on top of the podium.

“I didn’t have a lot to lose but I didn’t get very far. It seemed like an electrical problem, because the bike lost power coming out of turn 4 and Johnny overtook me. It’s a pity, I’ll try and get a good result tomorrow but the weather doesn’t look so good.”