Aruba Ducati’s Chaz Davies made it seven wins from the last eight World Superbike races when he crossed the line in Qatar last night but said it was a bittersweet victory as he wasn’t able to secure second in the title stakes.
Davies has won the last six races in a row - not done since Neil Hodgson in 2003 - but a magnanimous gesture from Jonathan Rea allowed Tom Sykes to claim title runner-up spot for Kawasaki.
“To do the double here, a circuit where we struggled last year, is a sign of much we turned things around. In the first half of the race I was just managing the gap, but after the restart it was a fast, short race,” said Davies.
“It was difficult to see the pit-board and I wasn’t looking at the big screens, so I didn’t really know how to manage the race, but then I saw Rea was coming back so I pushed a bit more in the last laps and did all I could to bring home the win.
“It’s bittersweet, because it wasn’t enough to secure second place in the championship, but I saw that coming. We’ve been the fastest out there since the summer break, and we’ll try to keep improving everyday, take it into next year and be as consistent as possible to get the big trophy in the end. Thanks everyone for all the support.”