Davies Only Has Eyes On The Big Prize In 2017

Chaz Davies admits 2016 was the best season of his career – thanks to a record eleven wins and 10 fastest laps – but still he wants more this year.

Wales’ World Superbikes ace dominated from the summer break last season winning seven of the last eight races including the final six on his Ducati.

But a run of three retirements in five races – at Donington Park, Italy and the USA – eventually proved costly as he finished third in the championship standings.

Davies missed out as Jonathan Rea retained his title with his Kawasaki team-mate Tom Sykes, the 2013 champ, second.

Having finished runner-up to Rea in 2015 and having won more races than the Ulsterman last year, Davies is determined to claim the coveted prize this time.

The Knighton-born rider, who bagged 17 podium finishes in the 26 races, said: “Surely, from a results perspective, it was the best season of my career, but I feel as if we missed the target.

“Looking back at it, there were some negative aspects.

“We’ve been practically flawless after the summer break and this left somewhat of a bitter taste, because I was the most successful rider but didn’t bring home the big prize, that is, the title.”

“We closed the season in great fashion, and to win races is always special, it doesn’t matter when.

“The zeros were the key though. That is what we need to focus on. We sure had many great races, but we also didn’t live up to our potential in a few others.

“That’s OK though, it helps keeping the target fresh for the future.”

Davies was a title contender after his double wins at Aragon in Spain then Imola in Italy before those costly few retirements on his Panigale.

The 29-year-old added: “I had a great feeling on the bike at the end of 2015, but we missed it here and there early on in the season, then found it again.

“When that happens, it snowballs into your mindset. The lap times come more easily, you don’t need to push, it’s like a chain reaction that generates more and more confidence.

“When I stepped on the podium early on last year, I often felt we could improve under certain aspects. It’s usually that one percent that separates a hard-earned podium from a ‘comfortable’ win.”

Davies is now setting his sights on a title charge in 2017 having undergone wrist surgery during the winter break.

Having just finished a promising test session in Jerez, Davies heads to Portimao in Portugal for another two day test.

Then it’s off to Australia for the final two day test ahead of the season opener on the Phillip Island track near Melbourne on February 24-26.

“We collected plenty of data, which is the most important thing in this phase, but I don’t think we fully discovered our potential yet,” he said.

“Surely we’re going in the right direction, but we’ll only be able to gauge our competitiveness in Australia.

“I think that this year we’ll have more riders at the top of the podium, but Johnny will still be the benchmark.

“But it’ll be different than in 2016, and very interesting.”

Davies is unconcerned by the changes to the race format aimed at spicing up the battle and ending the British domination of the podium.

This season, the top three in race one will start from the front row in the 13-round series.

“My first impression is positive,” added Davies.“Things will change radically, and this should make it more interesting.

“I can’t wait to try the new format, even though WorldSBK always had great racing historically.

“Maybe it became a bit boring toward the end of the year because there were almost always three Brits on the podium and, from a global perspective, it’s more interesting to have different nationalities and manufacturers up there.”