Chaz Davies is creeping up on Tom Sykes in the battle to finish runner-up in World Superbikes after a cat-and-mouse battle with his rival in Jerez.

The Knighton-born rider finished second in race one on the Spanish track on Saturday just ahead of Sykes.

Davies cut his deficit to the Huddersfield flier to five points ahead of Sunday’s second race and the final round in Qatar.

The 30-year-old was happy with second behind three-time champ Jonathan Rea having lost a lot of track time when crashing his Ducati in Friday practice.

Rea claimed his 13th win of the season after Davies’ aruba.it Racing Ducati team-mate Marco Melandri suffered a technical problem when leading with a few laps left.

Davies, who had started eighth, said: “I’m really happy because I feel that we rode a really strong race after missing most of FP2.

“It was tough because we had one hour less of track time and, with a new surface, there was a lot to take in.

“I felt that we were learning as the race was unfolding.

“It took me a few laps to adapt, so overall I’m happy to have been able to recover a few points on Sykes after a long game of cat and mouse with him.

“All things considered, I think we couldn’t have asked more. I’m sorry for Marco, he was really unlucky.”

Davies did the double on the track last year and victory on Sunday could see him take second spot in the championship from 2013 champ Sykes.