It has taken seven WorldSBK races for the number seven rider Chaz Davies to take his first 2019 podium on this particular Italian V4.

That is a long time for a rider of Davies’ pedigree (this was his 80th podium, in a career which also runs to 29 race wins) so he was understandably happy to get to his first Ducati Panigale V4R rostrum moment with third place in the opening race at Motorland Aragon.

“I am really satisfied, more so for my team and my side of the garage than myself, probably,” Davies told bikesportnews.com. “I am really happy for them because they have been working hard.

"It is not easy when things are not going so well. When they are going so well, like with Alvaro at the moment, it seems like the easiest sport in the world. You cannot put a foot wrong, everything is just happening, you cannot do wrong.

But when you are on the other side of it, it seems like the most uphill thing going, not just for me but everybody on my side of the garage.

"We are all looking for answers and everybody is still trying their best if we were finishing tenth or here on the podium.”

Davies, who qualified eighth and did not look likely to podium earlier in the weekend, even at one of his traditionally best tracks, enjoyed not just the finish but also the process of racing very closely with his rivals.

“It is good to be here again, and it was a nice battle, I enjoyed it,” said Davies. “I felt like I actually had probably better pace but I wasn’t really able to get out of the group. I had a few weak points and a couple of issues right at the end of the race, which kept me out of the fight for second.

"Otherwise things were quite solid. I was in a good group of the guys who have been running up front for podiums this season so far. It is good to be here.”

The obvious question for Davies, after two tough rounds in PI and Chang, was what was different here, what made the difference compared to the winter and the first two rounds. Testing maybe…?

“We are finding things and learning quite a lot but I think if you look at the Sunday pace in the morning and afternoon before the bike broke in Thailand, we were not too far away from a podium then either, he said.

“It was maybe not podium pace but it was not bad either. It would not be too far away and clear progress, even from Saturday in Thailand, which was a massive step forward. Body position, stuff like that. Then we had a test here at Motorland and that sort of helped.

I feel like the test helped but felt like I kind of ‘brick-walled’ again. So I could do an OK lap time but I need to make another step. I am happy to be here but I am not super-happy with how things are still. It is still not working quite right.”

Many have said that Davies would have to change his hard braking riding style to get the best out of the V4R, especially after so many years on the previous twin.  But does Davies think any style could work on this particular bike, if you get it to work the way you want?

“I think so,” he stated. “I think this bike will do what I want it to do, and until that point I will not stop trying to ride the way I know best to get around the track the fastest way I can. If it works, it works.

"And if it doesn’t it doesn’t, but I have seen enough signs that tell me to believe that I do not really have to change my style all that much, the bike will respond. It is just making progress and it is taking time.”

One member of the media asked him if it would even be possible to emulate the winning machine that is his tiny team-mate, Alvaro Bautista.

“What do you want me to do?” he said, full of incredulity. “It is impossible. It is like telling you to write exactly the same handwriting as another journalist, for example. The concentration to waste… and then you to write an article will take two hours instead of ten minutes.

"That is like trying to change your style. You can do it, I can look at his data and say ‘I can do that’, but the end result, to really, really change your style, is something I think every rider would struggle with.

You can adapt your style, like Valentino has done over the years, but his base style is still the same. He has adapted himself to be a guy that goes more outside the bike, or something like that. That is what I feel I can do, once I get my base feeling, when the bike is working good then I can adapt from there.

"I can brake a bit earlier, run a bit more corner speed, I can do what I want from that point. But until I get that base feeling, it is difficult to change that much. It is complicated so I hope it is clear to understand. Now I have not yet found that feeling. Honestly, no.”

Davies hopes for even more on Sunday. “I think from today, from what we learned in the race we can improve just with the knowledge of today. It is not just one specific area. Bit of front and rear, electronics.

Scoring a podium after so much misfortune and lack of confidence in his new bike must feel like a huge weight of pressure has been lifted from Davies.

“I did not feel pressure, I was just kind of pissed off. Honestly I do not look at what my team-mate is doing. From the outside you could think that I am looking and going, 'Oh my God, I am so far behind', but really I have always been good at concentrating on myself.

"I am pissed off because I do not feel that I am able to express my true riding style in everything, because I am not really comfortable. That is the most frustrating thing for me, when you come home from a race weekend knowing that you can do better but you cannot find the way to get the best out of yourself.”