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A double confirmation for Ducati and Chaz Davies on German soil this weekend. A triumph that doesn't change the overall balance of the championship, but probably sets the base for a very satisfying season finale for the men in red, akin to last year.
Having taken the race lead on lap eleven, the Welshman made the decisive move five laps from the end, just as rain started to fall, to score his sixth win of the season: “It was a great race and I loved every minute of it. It was different from yesterday though, as we had to work our way up from third row on the grid. We had a good start and in the first couple of laps we were within sight of the lead, so when I saw Rea making his move I tried to hunt down him and Marco. It wasn’t easy to pass them, but then I just tried to set my own pace, ride clean, and not make mistakes. I was surprised by our rhythm today in the high 1:36 mark, we definitely improved since the tests here a month ago, and it shows the effort everyone is putting in. I’m confident going into Portimão, but we’ll enjoy this double for now and get prepared for another battle.”
A great third place for Marco Melandri who, having started from pole, led the race during the first five laps, then sticking right behind Davies and Rea, showing he's taken a step forward in terms of race pace:“After the issues we encountered yesterday, I wouldn’t have thought we could take the podium here. But, we did a great job together with the team, changing the weight distribution and the overall balance of the bike. The Panigale R was much easier to ride today, and I felt comfortable. Unfortunately, the bike still moved a lot in a couple of corners and I was losing ground under acceleration."
All in all, the balance is positive for Melandri, who hopes to confirm this progress in the upcoming rounds on board the Panigale R: "I tried to brake deeper to recover, but I made a couple of small mistakes and I decided to secure the podium, thinking back to what happened in Race 1 at Misano. It’s been a positive round: we keep learning new things about the bike, and soon we’ll race on tracks that suit my riding style better. I’m confident ahead of the next rounds.”
