In a revelation of events, Chaz Davies reveals ignored phone calls, reading between the lines about his Ducati departure and how it’s impossible to not take the decision personally…

The 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has come to a close but there’s one question on everyone’s lips: what will happen to Chaz Davies? Third in the Championship in 2020 for a second time, the Welshman will not continue in the ARUBA.IT Ducati fold next season as he’s replaced by Michael Ruben Rinaldi. But, with no future confirmed and no factory bikes available – something Chaz has voiced he will need to fight for the title – where can he go?

Speaking on Saturday afternoon after Race 1, Davies shone some light on his future:

“Some things that are in my hands? No. Some things that are being spoke about? Yes. Imagine sitting where I am sitting and feeling like you couldn’t fight for the Championship but not having the full support around you, you already start with an excuse. I’m not saying that will be the situation but if you aren’t in the factory team then you automatically don’t have the full support.”

In factual terms, there are still a lot of Ducati riders available in the class; every Independent Ducati team has yet to sign anything concrete for 2021, including Team GOELEVEN, who were winners. However, in response to what he has in realistic terms, Davies said: “Real options right now? None.”

One of the best rides still available is the Ten Kate Racing Yamaha team, with Loris Baz currently not signed up; there’s also the confirmation of a second BMW team, which Davies was coy on.

“Yes and no,” he replied to a question about whether or not there’s been any contact between him and BMW. “I have obviously asked the question about it as I am out of Ducati, but nobody returned my phone call, which tells me they don’t want me. I’m not following the BMW story too well,” he concluded.

Talking about the split with Ducati, Davies didn’t hold back and said that nobody at Ducati gave him a good reason:

“To be honest, nobody gave me a good reason, so I’ve got to read between the lines a bit. The only thing that Luigi Dall’Igna did mention once was Superpole, which I will accept has been a weakness. However, I’d counter that with the fact we’ve reached a certain stability with the bike and the package and I don’t feel like I need to change too much, so I think we are in a better position now to work on a specific qualifying setup. It’s impossible not to take this decision personally. It hurts; it hurts a lot actually.”