---
title: "Davies dominates red-flagged first race"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2017/05/13/davies-dominates-red-flagged-first-race/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Lewis Duncan"
section: "SBK"
published: "2017-05-13T12:03:48Z"
modified: "2017-05-13T12:04:22Z"
---

# Davies dominates red-flagged first race

Ducati’s Chaz Davies notched up a dominant victory from pole position in the weekend’s opening race from Imola, which was halted six laps from the finish due to a big accident for Milwaukee Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty.

After a slight delay due to a power cut, the race got underway with Davies shooting off into a seven-tenth lead after the opening few corners, with team-mate Marco Melandri slotting into second to hold up championship leader Jonathan Rea.

![Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/05/674831156.jpg)

Rea hounded Melandri over the opening two laps, but a mistake into the final chicane at the end of the second tour put a bit of unneeded daylight between the pair for the Northern Irishman. He quickly closed down the gap, however, and scythed past the Italian into Turn 14 on the fifth lap.

By this time, however, Davies had smashed the race lap record with a 1m46.393s and was close to four seconds up the road. The advantage opened up to well over six seconds when the red flag was flown with six laps to go.

Laverty had been locked in a scrap over eighth place with Yamaha’s Alex Lowes just prior to the incident. Closing in on the end of the 13th lap, Lowes moved up the inside of Laverty at the fast downhill run of Turn 17.

> Twitter: ![](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2.2.1/svg/1f6a9.svg)RACE FLAG due to safety conditions and RACE ENDED. @chazdavies7 won #ItalianWorldSBK Race 1 https://t.co/vU1WRqEMLB (@WorldSBK)

Laverty collided with the Yamaha rider, breaking his front mudguard. With the bodywork dislodged and touching his front wheel, Laverty crashed when he touched the brakes into Turn 18, his RSV4 slamming into the concrete barrier and bursting into flames.

> Twitter: The reaction to the @eugenelaverty incident inside the @SMRWorldSBK box… to watch it click on the link below![](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2.2.1/svg/1f525.svg)… https://t.co/GxNiSlUaaV (@WorldSBK)

The Northern Irishman was able to walk away and the incident was put under investigation, though Race Direction deemed no further action was necessary.

With two thirds distance complete at the time of the red flag the result was declared and Davies tallied up his second win of the season, with Rea coming home a damage-limiting second place, the gap between the pair in the standings cut to 79 points.

![Robert Cianflone/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/05/645428154.jpg)

The stoppage proved good news for Melandri in third, who was coming under real threat from Tom Sykes. Barni Racing’s Xavi Fores was fine fifth on his customer Panigale, with Leon Camier cruising away from Laverty after their early battle for sixth.

Michael van der Mark took top Yamaha honours in seventh ahead of team-mate Lowes, whilst Roman Ramos made his third top 10 appearance of the season in ninth. Honda’s Stefan Bradl was half a second adrift in 10th, with Alex De Angelis, Lorenzo Savadori, Randy Krummenacher, Raffaele De Rosa and Ayrton Badovini completing the points paying positions.

Badovini’s Grillini Kawasaki team-mate Ondrej Jezek was the last of the classified finishers, with Laverty joining the luckless Nicky Hayden, Riccardo Russo, Leandro Mercado and the non-starting Jordi Torres on the sidelines.

![](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/05/2017-05-13-1-1.png)