Britain's Chaz Davies is desperate to find another factory World Superbike ride after BMW decided to close the doors on their participation in the championship at the end of 2013.
It doesn't mean that Davies will be out of a job entirely as rumour has it his Goldbet-backed squad may continue into next season with a brace of Ducati Panigales but Davies wants to continue as a works rider.
The Welshman is desperate for a competitive ride and wants to be with a team that can produce results. Having already had a taste of what it feels like to be part of both a factory and privateer team Davies is adamant that a factory outfit is where he wants to remain. But the Powys rider is a bit frustrated that all the data that has been gathered so far will not be of use next year as he sees his first year with BMW as a learning curve.
“The biggest shame about it is that this year is a learning year and we have had a couple of wins and some podiums but the main target was 2014 and unfortunately BMW won’t be racing. You can’t say it is a waste because we won races this year, but it would be nice for me to come into a factory team to use the data that we gathered for this year and put it to good use for next year, but unfortunately it is not going to happen,” said Davies, speaking to bikesportnews.com.
“It is a bit too early to say what will happen for next year, but I am confident that I will be able to find something decent. But I need to keep banging on the door and at this point in the season I need to keep putting in the results.
“I want to be riding a good bike and winning races, that is where I need to be. I have done my fair share of riding in privateer teams and I have noticed the difference riding in a factory team, and given the opportunity I would jump at the chance of riding in another factory team, but they are few and fair between at the minute in Superbikes, so I want a competitive bike in a capable team.
Davies has not ruled out an opportunity of going to MotoGP, but he does not see that as an option at the moment.
“Given the right opportunity I would go to MotoGP but I don’t see that opportunity. I want to stay in a factory outfit because you get the best from the manufacture and you get a good budget and resources behind you. It all depends what happens next year, it doesn’t mean the team is going to finish, it is just BMW who are not going to be involved, so there could be a slot yet within the team.
“I am not taking it to heart. BMW are a business and this type of thing sometimes happens and I am not going to cry about it, I am now looking for the next best thing.”
