Davies Back On Superbikes Podium After Battling Pain Barrier

Chaz Davies battled through the pain barrier to make a welcome return to the World Superbikes podium in Magny-Cours.

The Powys flier – who broke his shoulder twice during the summer break – finished second behind newly-crowned four-time champion Jonathan Rea.

Davies, who finished fifth in Saturday’s race one,  led the race until the 12th lap before Ulsterman Rea sliced his way past to claim the double victory on the track.

The 31-year-old said: “It feels great to be back on the podium after a difficult few months.  We had a tough summer with the double collarbone injury, but here we are, back on the box after a couple of races.

“Magny-Cours is definitely not a friendly track for my kind of injury, because there are a couple of really hard braking areas followed by right-hand corners.

“The plan was to get a good start and drop the hammer for as long as I could, and we did that. We tried to make it a little bit difficult for Rea, hitting my marks and making sure that, if he tried to pass, he was on the limit just as much as I was.

“He made a few mistakes and I was able to cut back on the inside, but eventually he passed me and we lacked a bit of efficiency while turning and picking up the bike. We weren’t far off in the end anyway, so there’s a lot to be happy about.

“Now I’m really looking forward to Argentina.”

Rea leads Davies in Magny-Cours on Sunday.

Davies’ second place on his Aruba.it Racing Ducati saw him increase his lead over Holland’s Michael van der Mark in the battle to finish second in the championship.

The advantage is now 26 points with 100 points left to race for in the remaining rounds in Argentina and Qatar.

Davies’ team manager Serafino Foti said: Chaz rode a superb race, fighting the pain and pushing hard to finish very close to the winner.”