After a stellar season that saw Chaz Davies take seven podiums of which an impressive five race wins from the 11 races completed, the Welshman powered his Yamaha YZF-R6 to the chequered flag today in Magny Cours, the penultimate round of the season, to prematurely claim the 2011 World Supersport Championship title.
Davies encountered a tough race today at the French formula one style circuit but with a comfortable 35 point advantage, the Welshman just needed to cross the line in sixth place, ahead of his closest adversary Fabien Foret, to claim the well-deserved title. Team-mate Luca Scassa was determined to celebrate the occasion with a race win of his own. The Italian was on flying form, storming his R6 to the finish line, delivering a spectacular victory, his third of the 2011 season.
Today marks the maiden Championship title of Davies’ professional racing career, an outstanding achievement he has reached prior to the grand finale in Portimao on 16th October. Chaz Davies’ career highlight to date was achieved in 2008 on winning the prestigious Daytona 200 race. Davies has been unbeatable throughout this season on his powerful YZF-R6 machine, the same R6 that has already delivered a Championship title just two years ago. After a year’s absence, the 2009 championship winning Yamaha YZF-R6 made a sudden and stunning return to the World Superbike paddock with the Yamaha ParkinGO Team at the beginning of the 2011 season.
Giuliano Rovelli’s Yamaha ParkinGO team participated in the 2010 World Supersport championship with Chaz Davies but chose to make a late change of manufacturer at the beginning of this season after being contacted by Yamaha Motor Europe, selecting the Yamaha YZF-R6 as the weapon of choice following its 2009 success at the hands of MotoGP Rookie Cal Cutchlow. Following Crutchlow’s similar success just two years, where the Brit scored ten pole position starts, ten podiums and five race wins, the winning YZF-R6 returned and proved it’s true potential once again as the most unbeatable and competitive machine on the grid.
Chaz Davies successfully claimed the title with a 37 point advantage over Foret in second place. Luca Scassa’s perfect victory today saw the Italian gain a valuable 25 points. Scassa is in fifth place in the standings, just 15 short of Parkes in third and 23 behind Foret in second. With today’s impressive results, Yamaha are topping the manufacturer’s championship with a significant 12 point lead, having won an impressive eight out of the eleven races to date, with one race to go and 25 points still up for grabs at the final round of the season in Portimao. The Yamaha ParkinGO team have also secured the top place in the Team Standings with a substantial lead and cannot be surpassed by another team.
