The ERC Endurance Ducati team has called up Chaz Davies to replace the injured Lorenzo Zanetti for the 24 Hours of Le Mans Moto at the end of next week, the first round of the 2022 FIM Endurance World Championship. The 35-year-old Welshman, prolific in World Superbike with 32 career victories and a former World Supersport champion, will join David Checa and Xavi Forés in the German-based team.
Sensational news just a few days before the start of the 24 hours of Le Mans motorcycle: to replace the injured Lorenzo Zanetti, the ERC Endurance Ducati team has called on Chaz Davies. After announcing his retirement as a World Superbike rider at the end of the 2021 season, the current Aruba Ducati Team Rider Coach will return to the saddle for the first round of the 2022 FIM EWC Endurance World Championship .
Last weekend, Lorenzo Zanetti suffered a heavy fall during the first round of the Italian Superbike championship which took place at the Misano circuit. First transported to the circuit's medical center, he was then hospitalized for rib fractures, an injured shoulder blade and a punctured lung. He also had successful spleen surgery.
The former vice-world Superbike champion will therefore share the Ducati Panigale V4 R shod with Pirelli tires with Xavi Forés, David Checa and Marc Moser as reserve driver. For the Welshman, it will be a first in a 24-hour race, with the possibility of testing the bike only next Tuesday on the Bugatti circuit in Le Mans.
Uwe Reinhardt, CEO of ERC Endurance Ducati, comments on this news: “Lorenzo is still in hospital with numerous fractures and we don't know if he will be able to race at Spa, but for Le Mans it will be Chaz Davies who will replace him. Chaz is a former Ducati factory rider so he has a lot of experience and I hope he can get on the podium, that would be very important. It's very bad for Lorenzo because the pre-test was very successful, it's very disappointing to lose him for this race but he's a great member of the team and it was good that all the drivers were at the same speed. But we talked for an hour with Chaz and he said, "Okay, I want to ride" and for him it's a dream too. »
