Carlos ChecaThe first round of the 2011 World Superbike Championship officially got underway today at the Australian track of Phillip Island and Althea Racing rider Carlos Checa immediately sent out warning signals to his rivals when he powered his Ducati 1198 to the first provisional pole of the season, seemingly without breaking a sweat.
In the first free practice session, in temperate conditions (20˚C air temperature, 42˚C track), Carlos made his presence felt right from the start, registering a 1m31.6 just a few minutes into the session. Unfortunately that lap was followed up with a small crash, but the Spaniard was unhurt and continued to dominate proceedings, closing the session at the top of the timesheets, six tenths of a second ahead of Rea (Honda) in second place. Even though times were not as fast as those he recorded during testing earlier this week, Checa was nevertheless the only rider to duck under the 1m32 barrier this morning.
Later in the day, in first qualifying, Carlos backed up his earlier performance by propelling himself into first position after just twenty minutes. He remained ahead of the pack until the end of the session, also managing to drop his time by a few tenths to conclude with a best lap of 1m31.5. His closest rival this afternoon was Guintoli, he too on board a Ducati, who finished three tenths of a second behind Althea's flagbearer. Although satisfied with today's results, the Althea Racing team hopes to be able to make further improvements tomorrow ahead of the all important Superpole.
Carlos Checa
"We worked really well today, concentrating mainly on the tyres. We have a clearer idea of which race tyres to use and I'd say that we're back in a position where we're experiencing the same sensations as last year. Unfortunately I fell this morning at the second corner. I was having difficulty shifting down, meaning that I hit neutral and lost the front. Anyway the problem was quickly solved by my always efficient technicians. Today we worked more on tyres while tomorrow we have other things to try, but I admit that I'm feeling very confident for now."
World Superbike - Phillip Island - 1st Qualifying Session
- Carlos Checa (Ducati) 1m31.5
- Guintoli (Ducati) 1m31.8
- Laverty (Yamaha) 1m31.9
- Biaggi (Aprilia) 1m32.0
- Smrz (Ducati) 1m32.0
- Haslam (BMW) 1m32.0
- Fabrizio (Suzuki) 1m32.1
- Lascorz (Kawasaki) 1m32.1
[Press Release and Photo Courtesy of Althea Racing]
