Chaz Davies’ first feel of his V4R at the Aragon WorldSBK test was a positive one and after all that waiting and build up over the past few weeks, he was far from disappointed.
With new team-mate Alvaro Bautista not present due to MotoGP commitments, he rode as a one-man official Aruba Ducati team, with Barni Ducati new boy Michael Rinaldi in the same pit garage.
For Davies, his new bike felt right straight from the off. “Actually I got on with it. Not laptime wise but just feeling wise - I was really comfortable straight away. Within a couple of laps I was like, ‘I don’t want to run before I can walk here’,” Davies told bikesportnews.com.
“I had to kind of stop myself from pushing a little bit because straight out of the blocks it was so comfortable and it felt good. Nothing quirky and no weirdness to it at all. That was a nice surprise and for quite a bit of the day I had to stop myself from pushing too hard, too soon.”
With his new bike so different from the old V-twin, which naturally revs lower, there was a lot to take in for Davies, even at one of his favourite circuits.
“It is very different, and so much so my head is about to explode, but I guess that is normal on the first day. There were a lot of positives, and we need to get into the data a little bit and pull everything together. For sure you feel the difference in revs.
“When I went from BMW to Ducati, it was like somebody switched the engine off and now it is like going back again. For the first couple of laps this morning I was shifting too early, but that is normal.
“When you have been five years on a bike that does not rev that hard at all and then you get on a four cylinder that does have the revs, then yes, you can feel the difference for sure.”
Weather permitting Davies should have one more day of testing at Motorland on Thursday, before another winter test in late November at Jerez.
