Aruba.it Ducati’s Chaz Davies dominated a delayed second race from Imola to tally up his first double of the 2017 season and bring his championship deficit down a further five points to 74.
The original race was red-flagged at the end of the opening lap when Ayrton Badovini’s Grillini Kawasaki blew its engine and leaked oil onto the track on the run down to Turn 18. A 40-minutes delay followed whilst the track was cleaned.
Twitter: ONE MORE RED FLAG
this time in #WorldSBK RACE 2… due to Track conditions at Turn 16. New schedule to be announce… https://t.co/D4X7ORAUtd (@WorldSBK)
Just as it was in the initial start, the action from the off was fast and furious, pole man Tom Sykes leading Leon Camier into Turn 1 with Jonathan Rea jumping up from eight to fourth.
Towards the end of the opening lap, a determined Rea snatched third away from Xavi Fores, whilst Davies was stuck behind team-mate Marco Melandri.
Rea’s charge was halted when he ran across the final chicane and dropped behind Melandri, Fores and Davies, but was quick to make up lost ground. By the third lap, Davies had moved into third, which was transformed into second when Camier crashed at Turn 12.
Behind, Rea and Melandri locked horns, the Kawasaki rider coming out the victor and beginning his chase for Davies and Sykes ahead. Sykes’ time at the front of the pack came to an end on lap seven when Davies scythed past at the final corner.
Once clear of Sykes, Davies eased off into the distance to tally up his third win of the season and his second successive double success at Imola.
Behind, Rea quickly ate into the gap between himself and his team-mate and moved into second with seven laps to go. However, the Northern Irishman couldn’t quite disappear like Davies had, Sykes keeping him honest right to the chequered flag.
Fores held a hard-charging Melandri at bay to finish a fine fourth on his customer Panigale, whilst Alex Lowes ended a difficult Imola weekend in sixth spot.
Eugene Laverty took a rebuilt Milwaukee Aprilia to a decent seventh, whilst Jordi Torres battled through the illness which sidelined him yesterday to pip Michael van der Mark to eighth from the back of the grid.
Leandro Mercado completed the top 10 on his Ioda Aprilia, with Roman Ramos, Nicky Hayden, Lorenzo Savadori, Stefan Bradl and Randy Krummenacher rounding out the points paying positions.
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