Spain’s Carlos Checa has re-established his big lead in the World Superbike Championship standings after his dominant double victory from pole position at Miller Motorsports Park saw him secure a maximum 50 points.

A year on from the heartbreak of seeing two race wins scuppered by technical issues, Checa made amends with a pair of dominant victories to add to his double triumph at the circuit back in 2008 for Ten Kate Honda.

Though a cautious approach in race one would see Checa forced to work his way back into contention, he was ahead by the end of lap six, while a strong start that had him leading into the first bend of race two was as close as it would get for his rivals as the Spaniard cruised away.

In all, Checa led 36 of the 42 laps at Miller Motorsports Park, the Althea Ducati claiming it to be just rewards for the team following last year’s despair.

“Two amazing wins, especially after what happened to us here last year,” he said. “In race one I rode cautiously during the first laps as the conditions were a little mixed but after a while I found good feeling with my bike and was really able to push.

“The bike really behaved well despite the slightly strange conditions. I was able to pass those ahead of me, though it wasn’t easy, and then I tried hard to build an advantage. In the final stages I stayed calm, controlled the margin and I did it!

“The feeling that I had with the bike improved for race one and I could really enjoy the race. A wonderful day, especially for my team and for Ducati. I want to thank everybody, my team, Ducati and the sponsors. This was not only a double victory but a moral victory.”

Despite victory in the races, Checa’s day wasn’t quite as perfect as it would seem after an ill-judged attempt to go across the grass on the warm-down lap resulted in him rather clumsily falling over the bike. Even so, Checa took the rather embarrassing tumble – which left both he and the Ducati covered in mud – in good grace.

“It was really funny because as I was returning to parc ferme’, I saw some fans who wanted to give me a flag so I went “offroad” to get it only to find thick mud which caused me to crash – the happiest crash of my life I would say!”

Checa’s results have seen him inflate his WSBK points’ advantage from 27 to 61 points over Marco Melandri, while Max Biaggi is a point further back in third.

Results from the US round of the WSBK at Miller Motorsports Park:

1st Race

1       Carlos Checa       1:49.779

2       Jakub Smrz +2.766

3       Sylvain Guintoli   +4.093

4       Leon Camier        +8.885

5       Eugene Laverty   +15.718

6       Tom Sykes +20.477

7       Ayrton Badovini   +22.170

8       Leon Haslam       +22.267

9       Noriyuki Haga     +24.087

10     Marco Melandri    +27.150

11     Maxime Berger    +29.422

12     Josh Waters        +33.428

13     Troy Corser +36.573

14     Joan Lascorz       +1:05.369

15     James Toseland   +1:14.382

16     Mark Aitchison    +1:14.736

17     Roberto Rolfo      +2 Laps

18     Michel Fabrizio    +18 Laps

19     Ruben Xaus         +18 Laps

20     Jonathan Rea      DNF

21     Max Biaggi DNF

 

 

 

 

 

2nd Race

1       Carlos Checa       0:38:22.082

2       Leon Camier        +7.194

3       Max Biaggi +8.734

4       Eugene Laverty   +14.214

5       Michel Fabrizio    +14.750

6       Marco Melandri    +21.634

7       Sylvain Guintoli   +24.079

8       Jakub Smrz +25.688

9       Ayrton Badovini   +29.621

10     Tom Sykes +30.681

11     Jonathan Rea      +31.033

12     Joan Lascorz       +37.063

13     Leon Haslam       +37.455

14     Maxime Berger    +40.509

15     Josh Waters        +40.894

16     Roberto Rolfo      +48.989

17     Mark Aitchison    +52.388

18     Ruben Xaus         +78.485

19     Noriyuki Haga     + 2 laps

20     Troy Corser + 2 laps

 

Standings after round five of 13:

1       Carlos Checa, Althea Ducati 195

2       Marco Melandri, Yamaha WSBK 134

3       Max Biaggi, Aprilia Alitalia Racing 133

4       Eugene Laverty, Yamaha WSBK 109

5       Leon Haslam, BMW Motorrad Motorsport 95

6       Jonathan Rea, Castrol Honda 94

7       Leon Camier, Aprilia Alitalia Racing 91

8       Michel Fabrizio, Team Suzuki Alstare 85

9       Jakub Smrž, Effenbert Liberty Ducati       83

10     Sylvain Guintoli, Effenbert Liberty Ducati 54

=      Noriyuki Haga, PATA Aprilia Racing Team 54

12     Ayrton Badovini, BMW Italia 51

13     Tom Sykes, Kawasaki Racing Team 50

14     Troy Corser , BMW Motorrad Motorsport 49

15     Joan Lascorz, Kawasaki Racing Team 39

16     Rubén Xaus         , Castrol Honda 31

17     Roberto Rolfo, Team Pedercini Kawasaki 15

18     Maxime Berger, Supersonic Ducati 12

19     Mark Aitchison, Team Pedercini Kawasaki 9

20     Josh Waters, Yoshimura Suzuki      8