British racing fans waiting to see Chaz Davies pit himself against the best MotoGP riders in the world will have to wait as Ducati have no plans to move him away from WorldSBK until at least the end of next season.

Sporting director Paolo Ciabatti granted the Welshman a test on Michele Pirro’s Desmosedici at Mugello after the Imola Superbike round and although he believes Davies would suit MotoGP, Ducati want a WorldSBK title and that is what he sees as Davies job, he told bikesportnews.com when we sat down with him at the Mugello MotoGP round:

How did the test go?
“It was Chaz’s desire to test the MotoGP and this was possible after the Imola SBK weekend and before Le Mans. Michele Pirro was also there for a three-day test and so it was the perfect occasion for Chaz. It was a first taste of the MotoGP machine. As you know, we have a limited number of tyres for the test, so he rode with used tyres. The feeling was good and I think that his riding style would suit the Desmosedici well”.

Will we see him in the premiere class soon? What about 2018 season?
“Chaz has a two year contract with Ducati (2017-2018 ) to race in WorldSBK. We have a factory team and we aim at winning the title. We have the same target for 2018 and Chaz is our key rider to do it.”

How important is this series for Ducati?
“The Panigale is a huge success in the sales and, as all the sportsbikes that precedes it, we aim at winning the world title. To achieve this, we think that Chaz is the man, with all due respect to Marco Melandri.”

How is the 2017 WorldSBK season for you?
“It’s a pity for the crash in Donington in race one where Rea, for the first time had scored zero points. We could reduce the gap, but I think that for the championship and the morale, it would have been important to gain more points.”