£ The clash at Assen was due to the accusation that Rea had deliberately slowed down after setting the fastest lap to prevent Davies from catching him . The Kawasaki rider was ultimately penalised three grid places because of the incident .
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ix wins so far in the 2017 season , happy or left wanting more ?
Definitely left wanting more . Always happy to have won races during the season , but I was hoping for a bit better to be honest . I would have liked to have still been in championship contention at this point , that ’ s the main thing really . I think six wins doesn ’ t really matter - if it ’ s six wins and I ’ m fighting for a championship then great - but having six wins and being out of the equation is a disappointment .
In saying that a few of the wins we achieved this year have had different stories to normal wins , and I ’ m proud of certain ones like at Laguna and also Lausitzring , I think we really had two great races there .
Competing with the Kawasaki is tough , you have been the only guy to do it and beat them on a consistent basis over the past few seasons , where does their strength lie ?
It is tough , it ’ s not easy to be on their level , they do a fantastic job . They turn up with a great package and put in a big effort , as do Ducati . Ducati and Kawasaki are the only manufacturers who have a true factory effort at the moment in WSBK , and it shows with Kawasaki especially - as they have one , sole road racing goal , which is to win the World Superbike championship as they don ’ t have anything in MotoGP . They are a tough competitor , they put all their might into the Superbike project and it makes them a tough cookie to crack .
Until you actually ride the bike you don ’ t know for sure , but from the outside it looks like they are a very efficient package in braking , turning , acceleration and electronics . All over they seem like a very balanced package . I couldn ’ t say there is a single area where they absolutely stand out , they are just incredible in a lot of different areas where their bike works . It doesn ’ t seem to have a really strong point or any real weak point , it is a high-level balanced machine .
If I really put it on the line and go toe-totoe with either JR [ Jonathan Rea ] or Tom [ Sykes ], then I feel like our risk level is different . They have got a little bit left in their pocket , whereas I am ready to crash at any corner . Why or how I wish I could explain , they just seem to be able to do what we can do with a little bit left in reserve , a bit less lean angle , a little bit less rush through the corner , but that ’ s been a consistent
Chaz Davies
thing now over the last few seasons . It ’ s something that keeps us working !
So you have needed to push the boundaries just to compete at times ?
For sure , it ’ s racing anyway so you are always pushing boundaries , whether you are on the best package out there or the weakest - that is part of what we do ! Definitely though , when I ’ m out there I feel I need to take risks to compete .
When it happens it really happens - we can win races , but the downfall over my last couple of seasons has been taking risks and those risks lead to mistakes . I ’ ve had a few too many zero-points to keep us in the championship contention , but at the same time I ’ ve won a lot of races , so there has been reward with the risk . I ’ m a very competitive person and settling is not really in my make up , I can do it but if I feel I ’ ve got a chance at the win I ’ m prepared to go there even if it means pushing the boundaries . It ’ s worked for me as many times as it hasn ’ t , when it happens people think it looked easy but the reality is often very different !
Are there any hard feelings between you and JR following your clash at Assen earlier this year ?
No , I think it ’ s now water under the bridge . We both said what we wanted to say , I feel like now we have got over it . I drew a line in the sand of what I thought was acceptable and what wasn ’ t , there has been respect there - it was there before the incident too but I think the respect is there again now so no hard feelings at this point , but we obviously still want to beat each other
What about your team mate Marco Melandri ? It ’ s not your first time being team mates but this time around you are certainly the lead rider in the team , has that changed your relationship ?
Not really , I don ’ t so much feel like the lead rider in the team and I didn ’ t feel like the second rider in the team in 2013 . I think my team have a good balance , where if one guy has performed better than the other they don ’ t just flock to that corner . It ’ s very fair , the guys get equal opportunities and the parts come at the same time for both sides of the garage .
We are four seasons on since I was first team mates with Marco , and I feel I have improved a lot in that time . I ’ ve found out how to tailor a bike to my riding style a u
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