Davies checks out in style with superb win for Ducati

The Mid Wales star is departing ways with Italian manufacturer after the team opted to resign his current team-mate Scott Redding and bring in MichaeL Ruben Rinaldi.

But Davies, 33, made sure he left his mark taking a second in the opening race and then a win in the finale at Estoril, Portugal, which secured him third place in the title standings.

Aruba.it – Racing Ducati also claimed the team classification title thanks to a third one-two of the season for Davies and Redding in the second race.

Davies, from Presteigne, said: "It was a day full of emotions, first on the grid then at the Parc Ferme.

"My boys made me excited and I thank them for all the passion and commitment with which they have worked over the years.

"A big thank you to the whole Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team for what they have done for me and for what we have spent together.

"I think this is the best way to say goodbye to the team, a result that the whole team deserves.

"It was a very nice race, I went on track with great determination and the feeling with the bike was absolutely extraordinary.

"And I'm happy to have celebrated with the whole team. Emotions that I will never forget."

Davies, who finished fourth in the points-scoring Superpole race, was also involved in a great comeback during the opening encounter.

After slipping back from fourth on the grid, he overtook Rinaldi to move into fifth, before making moves on Yamaha's Garrett Gerloff and Kawasaki's six-time world champion Jonathan Rea on lap 12, finishing in second place.

Stefano Cecconi, Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team principal, speaking after the second race, said: "There could be no better way to close the season.

"We thank Chaz for the results, professionalism and commitment he has put in over the years.

"He made us excited once again, first on track and then at the Parc Fermé with his team.

"Thanks to the whole team, to the guys who gave their best in a very complicated season, making sacrifices and always working commendably.

"We didn't manage to win the riders’ title, we missed the manufacturer's world championship by one point and won the team classification.

"We should be proud of what we have managed to do this season. The 2021 season, however, begins tomorrow.

"We will only have one objective, that of improving ourselves further to achieve the results that we work so hard for every day."

Tom Booth-Amos left Portugal with mixed emotions after claiming another podium and the 2020 Tissot Superpole Award before crashing out of race two while fighting for the lead.

The Newport rider, who will be back competing with RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki in World Supersport 300 next year, started the weekend as fastest rider during practice in group B.

He went fastest again in his group on the Friday afternoon, eventually qualifying in ninth, claiming the superpole award in the process after amassing 29 points over the whole campaign.

During race one, he was first in a battle with team-mate Nick Kalinin but when he crashed out it left a three-way fight for the win, which Booth-Amos missed out on by just 0.055 seconds to finish third.

And after crashing out of the final WorldSS300 race of 2020, it left Booth-Amos sixth in the standings in his debut campaign on the world stage.

Team manager Rob Vennegoor said: ‘We would like to end the season with a podium finish on Sunday, as Tom did on Saturday, but we are nevertheless satisfied with 2020.

"The highlight was of course our first-ever victory with Tom, but all podium places are also special.

"Many thanks to the team members, riders, sponsors, Kawasaki and to the organisation during this complicated season.

"Hopefully, we will have a 'normal' season next year but we will be ready anyway."