Post by honestjohn on Nov 22, 2010 6:42:18 GMT -5
Checa Does The Double At Imola
From Ducati Corse
Imola, 26th September 2010 – A perfect day. This is how we can sum up Sunday at Imola for Team Althea Racing and rider Carlos Checa, as they dominated the Italian round of the 2010 World Superbike Championship. It was a real celebration, in front of nearly 70,000 spectators who were there to witness the success of the Italian team, Spanish rider and of the Ducati 1198, winners of both of today’s races.
In the first of the day’s races, Checa started from the third row after a wet Superpole put paid to the great results that had been achieved in earlier sessions. In practice and qualifying, Carlos and Althea Racing’s Ducati has been the quickest pair on track and this was demonstrated in today’s 21-lap race. The Spaniard made up places right from the first corner and made a series of passes which left the Italian public on their edge of their seats. At the end of the race he moved away from Lanzi, Sykes, Haga and Smrz, building up an important advantage which allowed him to fight Haslam for the win. The two battled it out until the Rivazza corner when the English rider, in an attempt to pass Carlos, ran off track. At that point Althea Racing’s rider could relax a little, crossing the line first and celebrating his second win of the season.
The historic double came in the afternoon’s race. Quick off the line once again, this time Checa had no rivals. Although many tried (Biaggi, Haslam then Haga, Crutchlow and Sykes), no-one could keep pace with the Spanish “bull”, who ran a solitary race to victory. It was another spectacular result for rider and team alike.
“Today was the best day of my career”, revealed Checa. “Everything went perfectly and I know that I rode two of the best races of my life. Superpole didn’t reflect my earlier performance but in the races everything came together again, thanks to a strong start and a great pace. I feel great. The affection of my many fans, the feeling with my team that I thank for enabling me to score this incredible result, and the fact that I have done the double at Ducati’s, and Team Althea Racing’s, home track. I would like to congratulate Max on his title win but it has been a fantastic weekend for us too. We’re going to enjoy the moment.”
General Manager of Althea Racing, Genesio Bevilacqua, has reame of such a result for a long time and as soon as he stopped down from the podium he said, “The team has done an incredible job and we take away an amazing double victory. This season we have has some difficult moments but today makes up for all of that. We know that we could do this and it wasn’t just a feeling, it was a conviction, given all of our great work up until today. I want to applaud the team, that has come so far this season, all the people that have supported us, and particularly Unibat. I’m extremely satisfied to have come to an agreement with Carlos and with Ducati for the coming year too. Today’s performance is yet further proof of the wise choices, both technical and human, that we have made.”
A great weekend for Shane Byrne too. The Enlgish rider started from the fourth row, having scored the thirteenth fastest time in yesterday’s Superpole, but thanks to two great races, he was able to achieve two top ten finishes. In Race 1, Shane closed in eighth position while the afternoon’s race went even better. For three-quarters of the race he stuck with the leading group and eventually finished sixth, equaling his best result of the season.
RACE 1: 1) C. CHECA (Ducati Althea Racing) in 38’27”631; 1) L. LANZI (Ducati) a 1”171; 3) N. HAGA (Ducati) a 1”472; 4) J. SMRZ (Aprilia) a 6”691: 5) L. HASLAM (Suzuki) a 9”584… 8) S. BYRNE (Ducati Althea Racing) a 15”913…
RACE 2: 1) C. CHECA (Ducati Althea Racing) in 38’24”452; 2) N. HAGA (Ducati) a 2”129; 3) C. CRUTCHLOW (Yamaha) a 3”926; 4) T. SYKES (Kawasaki) a 5”762; 5) M. BIAGGI (Aprilia) a 7”025… 6) S. BYRNE (Ducati Althea Racing) a 12”147…
CLASSIFICATION: 1) M. BIAGGI p. 413; 2) L. HASLAM p. 350; 3) J. REA p. 288; 4) C. CHECA p. 274... 12) S. BYRNE p. 154…
From Ducati Corse
Imola, 26th September 2010 – A perfect day. This is how we can sum up Sunday at Imola for Team Althea Racing and rider Carlos Checa, as they dominated the Italian round of the 2010 World Superbike Championship. It was a real celebration, in front of nearly 70,000 spectators who were there to witness the success of the Italian team, Spanish rider and of the Ducati 1198, winners of both of today’s races.
In the first of the day’s races, Checa started from the third row after a wet Superpole put paid to the great results that had been achieved in earlier sessions. In practice and qualifying, Carlos and Althea Racing’s Ducati has been the quickest pair on track and this was demonstrated in today’s 21-lap race. The Spaniard made up places right from the first corner and made a series of passes which left the Italian public on their edge of their seats. At the end of the race he moved away from Lanzi, Sykes, Haga and Smrz, building up an important advantage which allowed him to fight Haslam for the win. The two battled it out until the Rivazza corner when the English rider, in an attempt to pass Carlos, ran off track. At that point Althea Racing’s rider could relax a little, crossing the line first and celebrating his second win of the season.
The historic double came in the afternoon’s race. Quick off the line once again, this time Checa had no rivals. Although many tried (Biaggi, Haslam then Haga, Crutchlow and Sykes), no-one could keep pace with the Spanish “bull”, who ran a solitary race to victory. It was another spectacular result for rider and team alike.
“Today was the best day of my career”, revealed Checa. “Everything went perfectly and I know that I rode two of the best races of my life. Superpole didn’t reflect my earlier performance but in the races everything came together again, thanks to a strong start and a great pace. I feel great. The affection of my many fans, the feeling with my team that I thank for enabling me to score this incredible result, and the fact that I have done the double at Ducati’s, and Team Althea Racing’s, home track. I would like to congratulate Max on his title win but it has been a fantastic weekend for us too. We’re going to enjoy the moment.”
General Manager of Althea Racing, Genesio Bevilacqua, has reame of such a result for a long time and as soon as he stopped down from the podium he said, “The team has done an incredible job and we take away an amazing double victory. This season we have has some difficult moments but today makes up for all of that. We know that we could do this and it wasn’t just a feeling, it was a conviction, given all of our great work up until today. I want to applaud the team, that has come so far this season, all the people that have supported us, and particularly Unibat. I’m extremely satisfied to have come to an agreement with Carlos and with Ducati for the coming year too. Today’s performance is yet further proof of the wise choices, both technical and human, that we have made.”
A great weekend for Shane Byrne too. The Enlgish rider started from the fourth row, having scored the thirteenth fastest time in yesterday’s Superpole, but thanks to two great races, he was able to achieve two top ten finishes. In Race 1, Shane closed in eighth position while the afternoon’s race went even better. For three-quarters of the race he stuck with the leading group and eventually finished sixth, equaling his best result of the season.
RACE 1: 1) C. CHECA (Ducati Althea Racing) in 38’27”631; 1) L. LANZI (Ducati) a 1”171; 3) N. HAGA (Ducati) a 1”472; 4) J. SMRZ (Aprilia) a 6”691: 5) L. HASLAM (Suzuki) a 9”584… 8) S. BYRNE (Ducati Althea Racing) a 15”913…
RACE 2: 1) C. CHECA (Ducati Althea Racing) in 38’24”452; 2) N. HAGA (Ducati) a 2”129; 3) C. CRUTCHLOW (Yamaha) a 3”926; 4) T. SYKES (Kawasaki) a 5”762; 5) M. BIAGGI (Aprilia) a 7”025… 6) S. BYRNE (Ducati Althea Racing) a 12”147…
CLASSIFICATION: 1) M. BIAGGI p. 413; 2) L. HASLAM p. 350; 3) J. REA p. 288; 4) C. CHECA p. 274... 12) S. BYRNE p. 154…