In Race 1, starting from second position, Carlos found himself fourth at
the end of lap one, behind Biaggi, Haslam and Sykes. After only a few
laps, Checa had got past both Sykes and Haslam and went after Biaggi who
had already built a one second gap. On lap five Carlos made the
quickest lap of the race overall (1m36.660) and on the eleventh he
passed Max to take command of the race. From that point on, his rhythm
was relentless and his riding impeccable right to the finish line.
Carlos won the first race 0.9 of a second ahead of Biaggi and an
impressive 17.1 seconds ahead of Melandri in third.
In race two Carlos managed to take the lead after just two laps and by
lap nine he had a one second advantage over Biaggi who followed him in
second. Unfortunately for Checa, a crash for Melandri left oil on the
track and this caused the race to be interrupted with a red flag.
According to new 2011 regulations, the results of the two phases of Race
2 are not combined and Carlos thus lost the advantage gained in the
first phase. Restarting part two of the race from pole position
(according to the order of arrival in part one) Althea Racing's
flagbearer was second after the first corners but immediately found
strong pace, recording the race's fastest lap, a 1m36.520, which is also
a new lap record. Carlos was 0.2 of a second from Max for several laps
before he managed to get past his Italian rival on lap seven.
The Spaniard remained the fastest rider on track until the finish line, winning the race 1.4 seconds ahead of Biaggi.
The Althea Racing team has won eight out of twelve races run so far in
2011. Thanks to these impressive results Checa today increases his
championship lead and holds 245 points to Biaggi's 173. Ducati leads the
manufacturer's championship with 252 points to Aprilia's 212.
Carlos Checa:
"What a great result today! In the first race, I didn't make a great
start, losing some ground through the first corners. Max was strong at
the start and it wasn't easy to pass him but once in front, I was able
to find good rhythm and build a small advantage. I'm extremely satisfied
also because the tyre began to slide in the final laps and it was very
hot today. We changed tyre for race 2 and it seems we made the right
decision. Max was strong again in race 2 and both he and I had a strong
pace, stronger than the other riders, but I perhaps had an extra couple
of tenths over him. When I took the lead I managed the race well and
took the second win of the day. We knew that Misano could be favourable
to us, after results during testing here in May, but I didn't expect the
double win. Fantastic, and perhaps even more important that the Miller
wins because we knew we could do well there while here it was far from
easy and so even more special."
Genesio Bevilacqua, General Manager di Althea Racing:
"A fantastic day for the Althea team as we achieved our objective, and
won in both the Superbike and Superstock categories. With regard to SBK,
Carlos was able to make the most of that which we had prepared for him
during the week; a top bike, a good tyre choice, a calm team even in the
difficult moments. In all of our tyre choices, Carlos was able to
demonstrate his superiority in terms of lap times and, in Race 2, when
he found himself close to Biaggi, he was able to control the situation,
even from behind, putting pressure on his rival. This was surely the
secret to his success because once Max made a mistake Carlos had no
further problems. Even though we have a good advantage in the standings,
we will stay very attentive to our rivals' inevitably strong
performances in upcoming races. I would like to thank the entire team;
the boys have worked night and day to obtain these results. I also thank
Carlos, Ducati and all of our sponsors, especially Unibat, for their
continued support."
RESULTS:
Race 1 - 1. Checa (Ducati); 2. Biaggi (Aprilia); 3. Melandri (Yamaha).
Race 2 - Checa (Ducati); 2. Biaggi (Aprilia); 3. Haga (Aprilia)
CLASSIFICATION:
Riders - 1. Checa (Ducati) 245; 2. Biaggi (Aprilia) 173; 3. Melandri
(Yamaha) 150; 4. Laverty (Yamaha) 123; 5. Haslam (BMW) 106; 6. Camier
(Aprilia) 101; 7. Fabrizio (Suzuki) 95; 8. Rea (Honda) 94......
Manufacturers- Ducati 252; Aprilia 212; Yamaha 190; BMW 138; Honda 111; Suzuki 99; Kawasaki 89
