Returning to the top of the pile after day one, Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) looked back to his best and was in the mix under the Californian sunshine. Laguna Seca has been a great circuit for the Welshman in the past, with three wins – all for Ducati. As he starts in positive fashion, will the Geico U.S. Round prove to be the big turning point for the reigning world number two?

Having been top Ducati and inside the top five after FP1, Davies made vast improvements in the afternoon session to go top in the final moments, pipping championship leader Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) by just 0.032s. Fastest through the first and last sectors but surrendering time to both Jonathan Rea and teammate Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) in sectors two and three respectively, Davies will look to refine his good base-setting after the opening day of action at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Describing his feeling with the bike after day one, Davies declared: “It is only Friday but it is better than nothing! It is good to see the ‘P1’ on the pit board again, it has been since Imola and we’ve had trying times in between. I really feel like I turned a corner in that session, we changed some quite drastic stuff from the morning and just went the right direction. Overall, I am quite happy, and I hope we can take another step forward tomorrow.”

It hasn’t been Davies’ best season so far, with him yet to take a win and just three podiums to his name. However, he will seek to steady the tide at Laguna Seca, and get his first win since Race 2 at MotorLand Aragon in 2018.

Watch more of the WorldSBK season blossom from Laguna Seca with the WorldSBK VideoPass!