Ducati’s Chaz Davies has taken his first WorldSBK win since Laguna Seca last year and did it in some style, crossing the line with a two-second lead over Michael van der Mark with rookie Garrett Gerloff in third place.
Van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) held off an astounding race long challenge for the podium places by eventual third place rider Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha), only earning second place on the final lap as Gerloff ran wide and VDM could cut inside.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GoEleven Ducati) looked set for a top finish but slowed and then was finally given the technical flag to stop, his bike blowing blue smoke.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) had a very tough race in the sunny conditions, losing places as his pace was consistently a little less than those around him. He went from fourth to fifth when Rinaldi passed him and that left Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) closing in for a time.
Rea would eventually finish fourth, but eight seconds down from Davies in a race many fancied him to win.
Redding slowed so much Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) took fifth place, leaving Redding sixth and over 14 seconds behind his team-mate.
Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) kept himself ahead of the struggling Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) for seventh, with Leon Haslam (HRC Honda) ninth and Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) tenth.
Alvaro Bautista (HRC Honda) retired in a race where only 15 riders finished.
In the championship Rea now has 290 points, Redding 239, leaving Rea two full race wins plus one point ahead of his only realistic championship rival, with two rounds remaining. Davies is third with 188 points, Van der Mark fourth with 178.
