WSBK

Chaz Davies Turns Pole Position Into Double Race Win At Laguna Seca

Posted:

Monday, July 20th, 2015

12:52 PM

Arubia.it Racing - Ducati Superbike Team racer, Chaz Davies turned his Saturday Superpole win into a double race win on Sunday at the Laguna Seca round of the World Superbike Championship in the early hours of the morning Australian time.

After the hot and sunny conditions seen in the lead up to raceday, morning rain made an appearance on Sunday for race day, but fortunately the track was totally dry for race one.

Davies got away extremely well from pole position, immediately taking control of the races. He set the fastest lap of the race on lap five (1‰Ûª23.739), after which he continued to push and build on his advantage over the chasing pack.

Putting together the perfect race, the Welshman knew how best to manage each phase of the race, riding his Ducati Panigale R to its second victory of the season and crossing the line almost two seconds ahead of second-placed Sykes.

Championship leader Jonathan Rea rounded out the top three in the opening race aboar his KRT machine, with the second Aruba.it Racing Ducati of Davide Giugliano finishing fourth ahead of Aprilia Racings Jordi Torres in fifth.

Chaz Davies made it a double with the win in race 2

In Race two once again Davies made a very fast start to take the lead.

Despite a rain shower during the early stages of the race, the Welsh rider did not slow his pace, again building up a considerable advantage over Sykes, lying second, just as in Race 1.

In what was almost a replay of the first race, Chaz kept his head, maintaining both his advantage and his concentration right to the line, finishing first and achieving what is a first double win of the season for him and the team.

‰ÛÏI‰Ûªm really, really happy with these results, and we‰Ûªve definitely seen the fruits of our labour here." Davies said. "The track here perhaps limits our weak points and plays to our strengths, and we were able to put together two really good races that went almost exactly to plan.

"I didn‰Ûªt think we‰Ûªd be able to lap in 1.23s but I was able to make some really quick first laps in Race 1, pushing hard for the first twelve or so and then it was all about gap management. We made a few small tweaks for race 2 and I think those changes were useful.

"I took a lot of risks with the rain, and was very worried about crashing but luckily the rain stopped and things went smoothly from there to the finish line. I thank my entire team, Ducati and our sponsors - it‰Ûªs been a really solid weekend, and a lot better than last year‰Ûªs outcome of course.‰Û

Jonathan Rea continues to control the championship standings with a pair of third place standings at Laguna Seca

As per race one Kawasaki's Tom Sykes crossed the line in second position ahead of team-mate Jonathan Rea who holds a commanding 125 point championship lead after nine rounds of the 2015 championship over Sykes.

‰ÛÏI tried a lot but there was nothing I could do to go through on Tom in race one." Rea commented. "He also had a good pace but I am sure I had a higher pace. I just could not through him. I tried a few times and ran wide and it was very clear if I was to stick a pass it had to be an aggressive one and in the last laps I did not get an opportunity. He was riding quite smart.

"In the final corner I was a little bit behind and it was one of those where you had to be clever as well, because 16 points is a lot better than zero.

"We also had a good pace in race two but it was a little bit my fault because I made too many mistakes. Tom and I both lost a lot of time to Chaz when the rain was coming but we ended up with a really good pace together.

"Today we played the long game a little bit and third is where I could finish.‰Û

The podium looked identical at the conclusion of both races at Laguna Seca

Race One Results:
1: C.DAVIES GBR Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team Ducati Panigale R
2: T.SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R
3: J.REA GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R
4: D.GIUGLIANO ITA Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team Ducati Panigale R
5: J.TORRES ESP Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils Aprilia RSV4 RF
6: A.LOWES GBR VOLTCOM Crescent Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000
7: S.GUINTOLI FRA PATA Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR SP
8: M.VD MARK NED PATA Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR SP
9: L.MERCADO ARG BARNI Racing Team Ducati Panigale R
10: L.CAMIER GBR MV Agusta Reparto Corse MV Agusta F4 RR

Race Two Results
1: C.DAVIES GBR Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team Ducati Panigale R
2: T.SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R
3: J.REA GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R
4: J.TORRES ESP Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils Aprilia RSV4 RF
5: L.HASLAM GBR Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils Aprilia RSV4 RF
6: A.BADOVINI ITA BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team BMW S1000 RR
7: M.VD MARK NED PATA Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR SP
8: N.CANEPA ITA Althea Racing Ducati Panigale R
9: L.MERCADO ARG BARNI Racing Team Ducati Panigale R
10: L.CAMIER GBR MV Agusta Reparto Corse MV Agusta F4 RR

Championship Standings:
1. Jonathan Rea - 407 Pts
2. Tom Sykes - 282 Pts
3. Chaz Davies - 263 Pts
4. Leon Haslam - 240 Pts
5. Jordi Torres - 164 Pts
6. Sylvain Guintoli - 136 Pts
7. Davide Giugliano - 119 Pts
8. Michael Van Der Mark - 114 Pts
9. Leandro Mercado - 104 Pts
10. Alex Lowes - 94 Pts

Top Image: Chaz Davies on his way to a double race win at Laguna Seca

Credit: Ducati.com