SBK, Davies, ninth symphony at Jerez, Rea second

Chaz Davies’ clear domination astride his Ducati Panigale seems almost embarrassing for his direct rivals and decidedly intermediate for those in charge of the work: it’s true, the Welshman is in great form and his bike has reached a performance level at the top of its class, but the Brits who race for team Kawasaki, especially in recent championship races, have administered their advantage in the standings. Yesterday they took the Manufacturer Title and, with the rider title (almost) in Rea’s hands, they battled it out, more for personal pride than for the points earned finishing second and third on the podium.

And yet, for almost the entire season, the ZX10R has been the bike to beat, but the tension between the two factory Kawasaki riders reached the peak at Jerez, favouring Davies as never before this season: “when the visor goes down, I’m different - Chaz said before stepping onto the podium - racing is my life. I have a lot of fun racing. The race was not spectacular, but that’s fine. I held my pace and I demolished the group behind me.”

At the end of the race, Rea stopped trackside and, with rather clear gestures, intimated that the championship would definitely be locked up in the next round at Qatar. Obviously in his favour, since that will be the last round of 2016, and with 50 points up for grabs and a 48-point gap between him and Sykes, the unthinkable would need to happen in the Doha desert, but who knows…

Finishing well, but just off the podium, Hayden rode an excellent race astride his Honda CBR, on his Yamaha R1, Guintoli finished ahead of Dutchman Van Der Mark, Alex Lowes, Jordi Torres and Anthony West, crossing the finish line ahead of Lorenzo Savadori, tenth today on his Aprilia RSV4. His teammate, De Angelis, finished the race early on one of the Spanish run-offs, with Davide Giugliano finishing thirteenth in a race that was conditioned by the shoulder he injured in German and Gianluca Vizziello finished in the points for team Grillini Kawasaki.

Overall Standings: Rea 462, Sykes 414, Davies 395