Chaz Davies closing on new Ducati 2021 WorldSBK deal?

Chaz Davies has the option of continuing with the factory Aruba.it Ducati team for the 2021 WorldSBK Championship but would need to take a significant pay cut, according to reports.

The Welshman’s place in the team has been a doubt for some time amid wildly varying form ever since Ducati swapped from the 1199/Panigale R to the new generation Panigale V4 R, particularly compared with team-mates Alvaro Bautidsta and now Scott Redding.

 

Despite this, Davies demonstrated race-winning pace en route to two podiums in Aragon and currently sits fourth in the overall standings, prompting the manufacturer to offer up a new contract for 2021.

 

However, GPOne.com is reporting he will need to be prepared to take a significant pay cut in order to stay.  

 

Lucrative options outside of Ducati, however, are limited for Davies with only a single factory seat left vacant at Yamaha and Honda. 

 

Yamaha is expected to announce who will join Toprak Razgatlioglu shortly with Loris Baz tipped to move across from the sister Ten Kate team, though ex-Yamaha MotoGP rider Jonas Folger could also be in the running if he performs well in his upcoming WorldSBK wild-card in Spain.

 

Honda too is yet to confirm its rider line-up for 2021 though Bautista is almost certain to stay on board. Though Leon Haslam has been a match for the Spaniard on the new CBR1000RR-R in 2020, it is well-known Honda has been shopping for another high profile addition with both Cal Crutchlow and Danilo Petrucci approached over the last couple of months.

 

Meanwhile, Italian media is reporting runaway WorldSSP championship leader Andrea Locatelli is nearing a deal to join GRT Junior Yamaha in 2021.