Chaz Davies admits it has taken him longer to get to grip with his new bike as he looks forward to a better second half of the World Superbikes season.

The Knighton-born rider reaches the mid-way point of the campaign at Misano in Italy this weekend eighth in the standings with points.

Davies is without a win since April last year while Aruba.it Racing team-mate Alvaro Bautista has racked up 13 wins on the Ducati Panigale V4 R in his first season in Superbikes since switching from MotoGP.

But Davies was confident of a podium spot in the final race at the last round at Jerez in Spain until being sent crashing out by former team-mate Marco Melandri.

“We tested at Misano before Jerez, but conditions were a lot different to what we expect this weekend,” said Davies, ahead of the Riviera di Rimini Round at the Misano World Circuit

“We’re not under any illusions that it’s going to be particularly easy there.

“Despite the results, I feel like with the knowledge from Jerez, we made a little step forward. We finally found something in the longer and faster corners which Misano also has so I’ve got to be optimistic.

“Before the crash, I was in the fight for the podium again so I feel it’s getting better.

“It’s still taking longer than I would have liked to get to grips with the Panigale V4 R but hopefully from Misano we can keep progressing.”

Davies, who has finished runner-up in the championship three times,  has 94 points – 206 behind Spain’s Bautista who leads the championship by 41 points from reigning four-time title holder Jonathan Rea of Kawasaki.