WorldSBK returns to Europe this weekend for what Wayne Rainey used to term ’The Ground War’ in Grand Prix racing and it will give Aruba Ducati’s Chaz Davies the chance to see where he stacks up compared to Jonathan Rea’s Kawasaki in real terms.

Davies has never been able to fight with the ZX-10R at Phillip Island or Buriram but this year he was in the fight for big points, taking away 70 from a possible hundred and now the Welshman goes to Motorland Aragon - a track at which he has won three of the last four races - where he will be able to gauge how competitive the Panigale truly is.

“I’m looking forward to get back to racing in Europe. In a way, things kind of reset at this point and the season gets in full swing. The first two rounds are always a bit different. Aragon is a track I’ve always had good success at, for one reason or another, but of course we still want to improve and take the next steps forward,” said Davies.

“This round represents an important chance for us to establish our base for the rest of the season and sort of see where we’re really at. Anyway, we’re in a lot better position compared with last year in terms of points collected. It was disappointing to crash like that in race two in Thailand; it’s strange how it unfolded but we also got lucky with the red flags. We’re second in the championship, but of course we want to finish in better positions.”