WorldSBK star Chaz Davies is yet to open serious negotiations with Ducati for the 2021 season but is hopeful he will get another crack at the Panigale V4R.

By his own admission, Davies struggled with the new bike in the first part of 2019 but then outscored team-mate Alvaro Bautista from half-distance, finishing strongly.

“We haven’t really approached the conversation about the future, not yet, not seriously anyway. Everybody is talking about ‘how do we come out of coronavirus and how do we manage the situation from this year?’ but at the same time opening up the conversation about 2021 as well," said Davies, who is due to become a dad any day now.

"I really want to make sure I get a second opportunity, a fair crack of the whip with this Panigale V4R. We might have quite a lot of races packed in this year and it will add some pressure.

"Races close together are always more taxing, physically and mentally. It's the same for everyone, so we will just get stuck in.

“This is my second season on the V4 and, for me, is a chance to build on what we did last year which obviously was turbulent. From the middle to the end of the season we put together a lot of good races and pretty much had podium pace.

“It’s no secret that the beginning of last year was a tricky start but, in the end, we still won a race last season, still finished on the podium plenty of times.

"I think it’s quite easy to overlook those results when Alvaro had such a strong beginning of the year. It’s easy to overlook that I beat him from the middle to the end of last year.”