Official: Chaz to d'Antin.

Friday, 28th September 2007

The Pramac d'Antin Team has confirmed that Chaz Davies will ride alongside Alex Barros for the final three rounds of the 2007 MotoGP World Championship.

The 20-year-old will be replacing Alex Hofmann, sacked after the Portuguese Grand Prix, and thus return to the team with which he made an impressive last-minute MotoGP debut at Laguna Seca earlier this year, when Hofmann was injured.

Following Hofmann's exit, Davies was tipped to ride for the satellite Ducati
team in last weekend's Japanese Grand prix, but was forced to reluctantly turn the chance down while he recovered from a nasty elbow infection. However, that has now cleared up and Davies will duly return to d'Antin's Bridgestone-shod Desmosedici GP7 at the Australian Grand Prix on October 14.

"I am very excited to have another opportunity to race in MotoGP with Pramac d'Antin," said Chaz, who walked away from uncompetitive machinery in the 250GP paddock to successfully rebuild his career in the AMA Supersport and Formula Xtreme championships this season. "I am also very grateful to the team and Ducati for giving me this opportunity. Phillip Island has been kind to me in the past with the 250cc so I hope this will transfer onto the MotoGP bike although I expect to have to learn many more things. Of course I will try my best and I hope to have a lot of fun!"

Davies revealed in his latest Crash.net column that he circulated 'just over one-second' off the Mugello lap record during a recent two-day test for the Ducati factory.

Gi

Valencia MotoGP: Chaz Davies undergoing hospital treatment in Valencia

By Matthew Birt
MotoGP
02 November 2007 11:23
Chaz Davies has been taken to a Valencia hospital for precautionary checks after he suffered a massive high-side crash in this morning’s opening free practice session.
The British rider crashed with four minutes of the session remaining and landed heavily on the track before coming to a rest in the gravel trap.
Chaz Davies did climb to his feet but instantly struggled to put any weight on his right foot.
He hobbled away for a few metres unaided but then stopped suddenly and needed to be helped out of the gravel trap by two marshals before he was rushed to the circuit’s medical centre.
He underwent X-rays which revealed no broken bones in his left hand and right foot, which took the brunt of his crash, but he was complaining about pain in his lower back.
Doctors decided to send him to hospital in Valencia for precautionary scans on his back, though it is not clear yet what caused the accident.
A D’Antin team spokesman told MCN: “He smacked his left hand quite hard on the tarmac but there are no broken bones.
“His right foot is fine too, but he was complaining about quite a lot of pain in his back and he has been taken to hospital as a precaution.”
It is not clear yet whether the crash threatens Chaz Davies’ participation in the season’s final race on Sunday, in what was the last of his replacement appearances for the Spanish-based team.
Further updates to follow later.

Hope he is fine for tomorrow, at least nothing is broken!

I heard that he had bruised his spine...doesn't sound good really does it?
Hope he's OK and able to race again soon.

MotoGP Exclusive: Chaz Davies in contention for Kawasaki wild card



Daytona 200 winner Chaz Davies is facing an anxious wait to find out whether he will land a dream wild card slot with Kawasaki’s factory MotoGP team in the two American races later this season.

British rider Davies has emerged as a shock contender to ride a third ZX-RR in the Laguna Seca and Indianapolis races following the multiple injuries suffered by leading wild card candidate Roger Lee Hayden.

If Hayden hasn’t recovered from the back and pelvis injuries he suffered in a Supersport crash at the Barber Motorsports Park last month in time for Laguna on July 20, 2008 Davies will be drafted in to join John Hopkins and Anthony West.

“There has been some tentative talks but nothing more than that,” Davies told MCN in a phone call from California on Saturday.

“I think it is quite a long shot but there is some talks and I’d definitely jump at the chance to ride in MotoGP again.”

Kawasaki bosses haven’t spoken directly with Davies yet. But factory team boss Michael Bartholemy has discussed his possible inclusion for Laguna and Indianapolis with Bob Moore, who as well as being Davies’ personal manager, he also represents factory MotoGP rider Hopkins.

The deal though is also subject to Kawasaki committing to run a third ZX-RR in the American races. Kawasaki is currently discussing the option of running a third bike, with budget issues the main constraint, unless current factory team backers and American energy drink Monster stump up the cash.

Davies, who rides for the Attack Kawasaki squad, confirmed that his participation is totally dependent on money and Hayden’s fitness, though he would have no problems in being released from his AMA deal to accept the ride should he get an offer.

“My contract is direct with Kawasaki in America so I can’t imagine it being a problem. I should know more in a couple of weeks.

“Roger is in a bit of a poor state but he’s got a couple of months to get fit. He could be good but I’ll see how it pans out.”

Kawasaki’s factory team boss Michael Bartholemy told MCN: “The third bike for the American races depends totally on the money. We are investigating the options now, but one possibility is that Monster could be involved.

“Roger Lee was the obvious choice as he raced for us in Laguna Seca last year but if he is not fit then another option is Chaz.”

If Davies does land the Kawasaki ZX-RR ride, it will be his second chance to impress in MotoGP.

When Alex Hofmann suffered a serious left hand injury in Laguna Seca last season, Chaz Davies was drafted in at the 11th hour to ride the German’s D’Antin Ducati.

The Spanish squad also called him up later in the year to race in Phillip Island, Sepang and Valencia, but he had a tough time and didn’t actually score a point in his four appearances.

He still did enough to impress Ducati bosses but rejected a testing role with the Bologna factory to pursue his racing career in America.

Davies added: “It would be interesting to see what the Kawasaki is like. Having rode the Ducati last year I’d be keen to try something that might be an easier beast to tame.

“It has been interesting to see the results so far this season because more than ever the Ducati looks like a bike that only Casey (Stoner) can get on top of.

“It is obviously an intricate bike and you either click with it or you don’t, and the results of Marco (Melandri) and Toni (Elias) show how tough it is to ride that bike.”

I really do hope Chaz gets the wild card ride with Kawasaki.....he's a good rider, but might be a bit too gangley on the smaller 800cc bikes.