Buriram is not exactly a bogey WorldSBK track for Chaz Davies, but it is certainly not one of his best. He has stood on two previous podiums at the Thai circuit but has also finished 11th, 15th, fourth and sixth as well.

This year in race one he secured a progressive third place, having been eight on lap one, making his a very fast game of patience as other riders dropped back and he overcame some unknowns.

“I tried not to force it all the way through the race and just wait for it to come,” concurred Davies on his race long approach. “It was hard to force it when the track temperatures were really hot and it did not feel that grip was fantastic out there, front or rear.

"I learned the bike more lap by lap but the damage was done in the early laps. I was not able to do much about Johnny or Xavi - although the gap did not change a lot at the end – but coming through the pack makes it a little bit harder.

"I made one mistake behind Leon as I got a little bit caught out following him on the brakes into the last corner. And I lost about a second there which might have cost me the chance to have a stab at Xavi, or it may not have allowed me to be that close.”

Davies was in exploratory mode with his setup as well.

“I raced a different front tyre to what I have used for over 12 months. I used it in practice yesterday and today so it is a matter of kind of understanding it. I did not feel like in these hot conditions it was a great match for my style or our bike, so maybe we can improve that a bit for tomorrow. Not just the front, but obviously the rear is more of a known quantity. It was a bit of a learning race and we came out of it with a good result.”

Davies was less surprised to be beaten by a semi-supported Ducati than many were to see him being beaten by the Barni Racing Panigale of Xavi Fores.

“His bike is the same as ours - as I told you before - it was the same last year and probably the year before that. There is an ECU upgrade every three races, so you cannot have extra revs over them. Xavi is riding well and getting things working. From where I am sat there is no difference. Xavi is just putting the races together a bit better at the minute. He has always been fast but he has put two really good races together consecutively.”