For the fourth time this year, Carlos Checa has pulled off a double victory. But Checa's 9th and 10th wins of the 2011 World Superbike season weren't the only reasons that the Althea Ducati rider was smiling on Sunday. Checa had his 100th start at Silverstone, gave Ducati its 300th and 301st win, and extended his lead to 62 points in the overall standings.
"It was a wonderful day. I didn't believe that it would be possible to win here, but we managed to do it twice over," Checa said. "To achieve the 300th win for Ducati is an important result and we are all very happy to have been able to repeat this in race two.
"I also heard that I have now completed 100 SBK races. I didn't know this but the important thing is that I still feel young and am not yet 100 years old! We have a good advantage for now but as we all know, it is hard to build up points and easy to lose them.
"We now head to tracks where I have had some good results in the past but we are taking it one step at a time; nothing is a given. It's been a fantastic weekend that I will remember forever. Now the team can go on holiday in a more relaxed state of mind."
Genesio Bevilacqua, General Manager of Althea Racing, was also thrilled with Checa's results.
"A double win that gives us great satisfaction," Bevilacqua said. "We've achieved two wins at just the right time and they help increase our championship advantage. A true demonstration of strength by our rider who made the most of everything we have given him on a technical level."
