Chaz Davies admitted he was hoping for more but battled his way to another second place in the opening World Superbikes race in Thailand.

The Knighton-born flier’s runners-up spot was his third in a row as two-time champ Jonathan Rea maintained a perfect start to his title defence.

Davies had to work hard for second after lining up fifth on the Buriram track with a result that leaves him second in the standings 15 points behind Rea.

He swept past Kawasaki’s 2013 champ Tom Sykes with a thrilling move before getting the better of his aruba.it Racing Ducati team-mate Marco Melandri.

The 30-year-old said: “I was hoping for more, but in the race I realized that even finishing second wasn’t an easy result.

“We had some limitations, especially in the first two sectors of the track, which surprised me a bit.

“It wasn’t easy to pass Sykes and Marco and it took us some time.

“Looking at the big picture, last year after this race we were trailing by a lot more points in the championship. Consistency is the key at the moment.

“We have to be realistic and what’s positive is that this is the best result by myself and Ducati here at Buriram, which is a difficult track for us.”

Sykes snatched third place from Melandri on the final lap to complete the all-Brit podium sweep.

Davies will start Sunday’s second race from eighth on the grid as part of the new regulations with Rea one place further back in ninth