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There is a close bond that ties Chaz Davies to the Aruba.it Racing - Ducati team. A relationship that developed amidst the World Superbike circuits in the seven consecutive years in which the Welshman held the role of official Ducati rider. And which continued to mature even after his retirement from the championship at the end of the 2021 season, when Davies returned to the Aruba.it Racing family, taking on the role of coach of the official riders. Alvaro Bautista's teammate in his debut season in SBK with Ducati, the 37-year-old Welshman has now returned to work closely with the Spanish champion, about whom he spoke to us in an interview given to our very own Riccardo Guglielmetti, before beginning the adventure that awaits him in MotoE under the banner of the new Aruba Cloud team.
Chaz, how much has Bautista improved compared to when you were teammates in 2019?
“He's changed a lot since then. He decided to change direction after two difficult years at Honda, which probably allowed him to understand a little the limit of the Pirelli tyres. He tried to push the package he had to the limit and get the best possible results, but the one between him and Aruba is truly a great combination. Alvaro is incredibly talented and makes a fantastic pairing with the Panigale V4R, which I think manages to bring out all of his strengths. While he manages to get the most from this package. People like to talk about the bike, and now there is also a rule that is essentially made especially for Alvaro, but in the end he is the only rider who manages to get all the potential from the package and he has done so consistently in recent years. We have to give him credit for that."
How do you find working with him? How do you help him?
“Working with him is a pleasure. Every time he has been on track in the last two years, Alvaro has always been more or less in the window with the electronics, the chassis and everything, so the important thing is to keep him on track, without giving him too much feedback from the outside. Honestly, my work with him is quite simple: I move into action when a reaction is needed, like in moments like Donington, Most or Imola, in which we had to take a step forward because Rea or Toprak were a little stronger and I decided to provide him with some more data. But otherwise Alvaro almost always has the situation under control. This year will be more difficult because it comes from a complicated winter, in which he was unable to ride at 100%. So, I guess this season we will have to work hard together to make sure that he always gets the most out of himself and the package, but at the end of the day he is always our benchmark. We are in an exciting moment because the championship is fantastic, there are a lot of competitive riders, and we also have Nicolò who is doing very well."
Is there something that impresses you about Alvaro?
“His serenity. He is calm in any situation, he knows how to control himself and his emotions very well, but also the group. Whether he finds himself in a difficult moment or wins by a 10" margin, his mentality is more or less always the same. I think it depends on the type of training he does, but he has great composure in reading the situations around him, including how to react in the race with Jonathan and Toprak. It's easy to get worked up and make a mistake and part of my job is to instruct the rider, not necessarily to improve performance, but also just to provide him with data on his opponents and what could happen, which can help him to avoid making mistakes during the race. I understand what it's like to be in his shoes, because I've been there for many years, especially in Ducati, which being a factory team is an environment with a lot of pressure."
Did you expect a start for Rea and Yamaha like the one we saw in Australia?
“Honestly no. Considering the level, I never imagined that Phillip Island could be such a disaster. It was a really tough round and I was sad to see him crash, but luckily he's okay. Johnny seemed to be doing well in the tests, even though he didn't do anything special, he was in the Top 5. Probably he still has to bond a bit with the Yamaha, because the Phillip Island weekend was a really difficult one."
