Chaz Davies celebrated finishing second in the World Superbikes but admitted he was sorry for the fans after the final race of the season was scrapped.

An unusual desert thunderstorm means Saturday’s season finale in Qatar could not go ahead after race officials delayed the start time under the Losail lights.

Davies would surely have wrapped up second anyway given he had a 23 point advantage over Michael van der Mark.

But the scrapping of the race ensured he took the runners-up spot in the championship behind Ulster’s Jonathan Rea for the third time in the past four years.

Now the 31-year-old is relishing getting to grips with the all-new Ducati Panigale V4 which he hopes will challenge Rea’s dominant Kawasaki and power him to the title in 2019.

Davies said: “Safety must come first, even though it’s a bit anticlimactic and I’m sorry for the fans here at the track and at home, but to cancel the race was the right decision.

“We sealed P2 in the championship, I’m very happy about that, and most of all I’m really excited about a new challenge with the V4. I can’t wait to ride it in a couple of weeks!”

Much of the Losail track was dry, but a few of the corners were crossed by streams of water making it too dangerous for the riders.

Davies finished with two wins and 12 podiums this season for a total of 356 points.

He will test the new bike for the first time at the Aragon track in Spain on November 14-15.

Marco Zambenedetti, Technical Coordinator on track for Ducati Corse, said: “We didn’t expect this kind of ending, but safety is the priority, and rightly so.

“This marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new one for Ducati. We’re ready to restart and excited for a new challenge with the Panigale V4.”