CHAZ Davies endured a frustrating weekend in Holland in the fourth round of the World Superbike Championship held at Assen.

The Presteigne star claimed third place in race one but a disappointing second race saw Davies struggle to fifth in race two.

The Aruba.it Racing-Ducati star ended third behind winner Jon Rea of Kawasaki and Yamaha’s Mike van der Mark in race one.

However Davies failed to recover after going off the track early in race two and struggled to fifth with Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes taking the flag.

Davies remained upbeat, saying: “We didn’t give away too many points but the second race was a struggle.

“The first race was a tough fight, from the first until the last lap. I’m really happy with this result, considering that we struggled during free practice and qualifying.

“Once I managed to come back through the field, I was just following Rea and stayed with him when he picked up the pace. When Mike passed me in the final laps I was struggling with grip so nobody was in a position to attack and we all basically kept our positions. It was a learning process.”

Davies conceded the second race had been a disappointment but insisted the weekend had been a success with Rea’s lead at the top of the table cut to 30 points.

“We suffered with edge grip and turning on the exit, then we had a strange vibration on the rear,” said Davies. “We still need to find out what caused it, but it forced us to go slower in the final laps and basically just bring it home.”

The fifth round of the championship will see Davies cheered on by Ducati supporters as the WSBK heads to Imola on May 13 before heading to Donington Park in the British round on May 27.

“Imola has been good in the past few years so I hope for better fortunes there,” said Davies.