Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) pushed his way to a second clear win at his team’s home round in Imola, winning by almost four seconds and easing up on the final lap.
After a red flag incident halted the first attempted start, when Ayrton Badovini’s bike left oil on the track, the real 18-lap Sunday race finally got underway at 13.40.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) led from Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) but Sykes’ team-mate Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) ran on into the Variante Basso, losing places from fourth to sixth for a time. Melandri also made a mistake to drop a place and let Davies through early on.
Sykes, Camier and Davies were the top three on lap three of 18.
Camier suffered heartbreak as he crashed out of second place at the Variante Alta, and Alex De Angelis also fell on the fifth lap.
Sykes, smoking the rear tyre at times, was pressing on out front, but Davies closed in inexorably.
A slowing Sykes had Davies just over a second behind him on lap six and entering the final chance of lap seven, Davies passed, right underneath the noses of the Ducati grandstand.
Chaz hammered out a lead of a second on lap nine and two seconds on lap 10.
Rea, closing in on Sykes, went past on lap 12 at Tosa.
He remained second; Sykes was third but behind the fight for fourth was also real, as privateer Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Ducati) beat Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).
Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) finished sixth, Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) a brave and committed seventh after his first day fireball, and Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) was a brilliant eighth after fighting through the field.
Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) and Leandro Mercado (IodaRacing Team Aprilia) completed the top ten.
