Chaz Davies completed his second double of the 2016 World Superbike season with another crushing victory in race two at Imola. The Welshman produced a repeat performance of his race one success, leading every lap as Jonathan Rea was left to fend off Kawasaki teammate Tom Sykes for second.
While Rea was able to keep pace with the leading Ducati before skating off-track midway through race one, the reigning champion was detached from the no.7 almost immediately on Sunday. Once again, the focus shifted to the inter-team rivalry at Kawasaki with Rea coming perilously close to crashing on the exit of the Variante Bassa but once he had regained his composure, the Ulsterman consolidated second for 20 championship points.
Davies was in a class of his own though and the victor put his achievement down to the improvements made by his team to turn his Panigale into the class of the field.
“It’s just been an incredible week-end, from start to finish. The latest upgrades Ducati brought for the Panigale R in Aragon allowed us to compete for the win in each race. To seize a victory here in Imola, Ducati’s backyard, is special. To do a double, is unbelievable. Today the conditions were different, but we were able to create a gap since the first few laps. I made a couple of mistakes in lap 9 that made me lose a second, but also helped me stay focused until the checkered flag. We head to Sepang with confidence, as we have a more competitive package than last year, when we still left Malaysia with a second place and a win. Our goal is to keep the momentum and further cut the gap in the championship.”
Davide Giugliano brought the second Aruba.it machine home in fourth ahead of the impressive Leon Camier who continues to work wonders with the underpowered MV Agusta. Alex Lowes took sixth for his best result of 2016 while Jordi Torres saw off the Hondas of Nicky Hayden and Michael van der Mark for seventh.
WorldSBK 2016: Motul Italian Round – Race Two Result
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