Video: Chaz Davies' Ducati Panigale R Catches Fire at Donington Park

Is it hot in here, or just that Ducati?

It was a hot #UKWorldSBK start for Chaz Davies at Official Donington Park Racing... 🔥 Despite this mishap, everything is going to be all right tomorrow for WorldSBK Race 1 at 15:00 (local time). Good luck!

Posted by WorldSBK on Friday, May 27, 2016

For once it wasn't raining in Britain. That's too bad for Chaz Davies and the aruba.it Racing Ducati team though, as today at Donington Park, the Welshman's Panigale R caught fire in rather spectacular fashion and was in need of a good dousing.

The fire did eventually get put out, but not before utterly destroying the Panigale R and forcing Davies back to the pit box, where he'd spend the majority of Free Practice 2. Davies would ultimately finish the session 13th fastest, after having finished FP1 in fourth, behind Tom Sykes, Davide Giugliano, and Jonathan Rea.

As for the fire, it's said to have stemmed from a mechanical problem, but there's no word just yet on where exactly things went awry. We're just glad things didn't end up worse for Davies (cue memories of Colin Edwards having to jump from his Aprilia RS Cube at over 120 mph, when its fuel cap fell off at Sachsenring and it exploded in flames).

Watch the video above to see how it all went down.