WorldSBK: Davies and Rea dominate Laguna Seca

Welshman Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing) returned to the top step of the podium after a 15-month drought at Round 9 of the WorldSBK Championship at Laguna Seca (July 12-14), achieving his first win aboard the Ducati Panigale V4 R in an action-packed weekend that also saw Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) notch up a further win and extend his championship lead.

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Davies also notched up his 200th World Superbike race in Superpole at Laguna Seca, and while that event saw Rea triumph it didn't dampen Davies' pace in Race 2, where the 32-year-old dominated from start to finish and crossed the line three seconds ahead of Rea, with Turkey's Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Purccetti Racing) in third.

In Race 1, however, it was Rea who came out on top, the Ulsterman taking the win ahead of Davies, with Razgatlioglu again rounding out the podium.

In contrast, it was a weekend Davies' teammate, Alvaro Bautista, would rather forget, with Laguna Seca seeing the Spaniard crash twice and record a DNF.

Bautista crashed out of Race 1 but rejoined to later cross the line in 17th, but a further crash in Superpole stretched ligaments in his shoulder. He still fronted the starter for Race 2, but retired after the opening lap due to pain and a lack of strength in his left arm.

Rea's efforts now see him leading the championship on 433 points, ahead of Bautista on 352 points. It's been a superb effort by Rea in recent rounds – he was playing catch-up until Round 8 at Donington (UK), but the four-time WorldSBK Champion now has a solid 81-point buffer.

Davies was thrilled to rack up a race win.

"This win really means a lot to me, because it's been a long hard season so far," he said.

"The last time I won was almost a year and a half ago and it gets to a point where you wonder whether you can still win or not. It's just proof that if you keep plugging away and working hard then the results sooner or later will come and today was that day.

Rea said he was pleased to further his lead in the championship at Laguna Seca.

"I just decided that today [for Race 2], my position was second and to try and consolidate that," he said.

"It was a long race: the first 10 laps felt like I was taking a lot of risks compared to yesterday. Two race wins, a second, a new lap record – I am really happy going into the summer break."

The WorldSBK Championship continues after that break, with Round 10 to be held at the Algarve International Circuit in Portimao, Portugal, over September 6-8.

1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki), 433 points
2. Alvaro Bautista (Ducati), 352pts
3. Alex Lowes (Yamaha), 220pts
4. Michael Van Der Mark (Yamaha), 215pts
5. Leon Haslam (Kawasaki), 202pts
6. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki), 191pts
7. Chaz Davies (Ducati), 184pts
8. Tom Sykes (BMW), 170pts
9. Marco Melandri (Yamaha), 138pts
10, Sandro Cortese (Yamaha), 100pts