Aruba.it Ducati’s Chaz Davies ended the opening day of track action in Thailand fourth fastest and happy with the progress his team made from FP1 to FP2.
The British rider is chasing his maiden Buriram victory and his first of the 2017 season in order to cut into the 10-point deficit he has to championship leader Jonathan Rea following Phillip Island.
Davies began the day in fine fashion, guiding his Panigale R to a 1m33.947s to complete the top three in FP1, and was happy with the condition of the Chang International Circuit as he was able to push from the off.
“Today we’ve been working on our program to get the bike in the ballpark, building our confidence progressively, and it looks like we’re all quite evenly matched in the top four positions,” said Davies.
“It’s the first time here that the track actually allows us to attack from the very first laps!”
In the afternoon session, Davies worked to cure the issues he had been having with the front-end and was satisfied with the step forward he made in this area.
The Welshman improved on his FP1 best by a tiny margin, lowering his time to a 1m33.895s to finish up fourth and 0.322s from top spot. Encouragingly, this lap was done on used rubber.
Davies admits that he is still struggling a little bit in the third sector, but was nonetheless buoyed by his pace.
“We’ve made good steps forward in between sessions, but there’s still a couple of areas in which to improve, especially the third sector,” he said.
“We need to find one or two tenths there, but our pace is quite competitive nonetheless. I did my best lap on used tyres this afternoon, so overall it’s been a good first day.”
Team-mate Marco Melandri was just over four hundredths of a second quicker than Davies today in third. The Italian is gelling well with the unfamiliar Chang Circuit, though he too is losing a little time in sector three.
Melandri is also wary of the gruelling heat facing the riders over a race distance, and reckons Kawasaki still have the edge. Nevertheless, he has his sights set high and is raring to go.
“I’m happy because the team has done a great job and my Panigale R immediately gave me good feedback,” he said.
“This track is more technical than what it looks like: it features hard-braking areas, fast corners, a bit of everything…It’s fun to ride, but I still need to improve under braking and in terms of my lines, especially in the third sector.
“Still, today went better than what we expected. It will be hard to race in such hot conditions. It would be great to secure front row once again and get a good start. I think the Kawasakis still have an advantage, but we’re ready to make things difficult for them.”
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