Checa doubles up in the USA
Added on Monday, May 30th, 2011 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
Checa doubles up in the USA
Carlos Checa enhanced his 2011 World Superbike Championship charge at the Miller Motorsports Park in America today, after transferring pole position into a double victory.
As the first race of the day got underway it was Troy Corser who settled into the early control of the race, as he led the field around the track. Noriyuki Haga followed him closely in second place, whilst pole sitter Checa slipped down to third temporarily.
After already losing Max Biaggi and Jonathan Rea in the early stages, lap three saw more chaos strike when Ruben Xaus slipped from his Castrol Honda machine, taking Michel Fabrizio with him, sending both of them into retirement.
By the fifth lap Checa had found his way into the lead of the race, from where he never looked back. After holding his own at the front for a number of laps Corser gradually slipped down the order, as he seemingly struggled with tyres.
As the front runners settled into a rhythm, Eugene Laverty made a charge through the field, when he soon found himself locked in a fierce battle for second place with Sylvain Guintoli. Shortly afterwards Jakub Smrz followed suit, when he too locked onto the rear of his teammate’s bike.
As the chequered flag fell, it was Smrz who got the upper hand on teammate Guintoli for second, whilst Leon Camier enjoyed a strong outing in fourth. Laverty finally settled in fifth place, ahead of a charging Tom Sykes and Ayrton Badovini. Leon Haslam fought a broken tow to ride to an eighth place finish, whilst Haga and Marco Melandri rounded out the top ten.
A more simple outing second time around saw Checa cruise to his sixth victory of the season, also stretching his advantage in the championship standings in the process.
Behind, Leon Camier enjoyed an even stronger race this time around, to finish second, also grasping one of his strongest finishes in his WSB career. Biaggi clawed back from a disappointing opening race at the American circuit to complete the podium and claim some vital points, as he bids to retain his championship crown.
Laverty continued his good fortune with a fourth place finish, narrowly ahead of Fabrizio, who also fought back from a heavy crash in the first race of the day. Melandri moved his way up through the top ten this time around with a sixth place finish, with Guintoli and Smrz in tow.
Just inches behind a close ending to the top ten was being fought out, with Badovini taking ninth place ahead of the challenging Tom Sykes. Two retirements saw Corser and Haga fall foul of bad luck, with each of their races ending after just two laps.
Checa’s lead in the standings now stands at 195 points, with Melandri second on 134 and Biaggi catching up with 133 points. Laverty is fourth with a total of 109 points.
The next round of the WSB championship is over the weekend of 11-12th June, at the Misano circuit.
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