Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) will arrive at the Acerbis French Round straight off the back of one of the most challenging weekends of his career. Two weeks ago, at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve the Welshman fought through pain and exhaustion to claim two fourth-place finishes, a titanic effort for a rider who just two weeks earlier had re-fractured his collarbone.

The 31-year-old has now had two weeks more to heal up and prepare for the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, a track where Davies has dazzled on more than one occasion: three wins out of the last four races in France cement his status as one of the clear favourites for the weekend. Winless since MotorLand Aragon – another of his best-performing tracks – Davies will undoubtedly be in the hunt for his third victory of the season.

Davies feels well rested and ready as ever for the 4.4km circuit: “Physically, I'm feeling a bit better, stronger and with less pain compared with Portimão. In the last few days the collarbone hasn't given me any trouble in day-to-day activities, so I hope the weather stays consistent and we'll try to get the most out of our time on track”.

A fixture on the WorldSBK calendar since 2003, Magny-Cours offers up a unique challenge: “I enjoy the track, it's quite basic but also technical, with a lot of tight turns. It forces you to push more each lap, trying to turn quicker or brake deeper, and it presents different challenges compared with most other circuits on the calendar”.

Find out how the Welshman fares at the last European round of the season thanks to WorldSBK VideoPass.