Spain’s Carlos Checa has clinched the World Superbike Championships title for 2011.

He was simply the best at round 12 of the series at Magny-Cours, in France, at the weekend, doing enough to seal the championship with one round to spare.

Though Checa was always expected to seal the title in France having established such a sizeable lead over the preceding rounds, the manner of which he achieved his title feat was most certainly indicative of the man’s exceptional season.

Winning both races to bring his season’s tally of wins up to 13 and 14, victory represents a first world title for a man who made his debut on the international stage almost two decades ago in 1993.

Coming less than two years after he took a chance on joining the then-privateer Althea Racing team, which in turn was switching from Honda to Ducati machinery, 38-year-old Checa says he can now ‘relax and relish’ in his long-awaited glory.

“It has been a perfect day, the best day of my career and probably the best day of my life. I thank everyone, every person that has helped me throughout my career, from the beginning up until today, for helping me reach this point. I especially thank Genesio Bevilacqua, my entire team and Ducati of course.

“I am experiencing so many emotions and must admit that it was very difficult to keep my concentration in the final stages of race one. Then, in race two, I tried to race as fast as I could, doing what I like to do best, and was able to win once more. Now we can relax and relish in this unforgettable moment.”

RESULTS:

Race one:

1. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1098R 38mins 16.465secs
2. Marco Melandri ITA Yamaha YZF R1 +2.201s
3. Leon Haslam GBR BMW Motorrad S1000RR +3.218s
4. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +3.796s
5. Eugene Laverty IRL Yamaha YZF R1 +5.602s
6. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R +9.634s
7. Noriyuki Haga JPN PATA Aprilia RSV-4 +9.814s
8. Joan Lascorz ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +11.387s
9. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +17.143s
10. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki RTS ZX-10R +24.523s
11. Javier Fores ESP BMW Italia S1000RR +34.532s
12. Michel Fabrizio ITA Suzuki Alstare GSX-R1000 +1min 19.742s
13. Roberto Rolfo ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1 lap

Not Classified

14. Maxime Berger FRA Supersonic Ducati 1098R 10 laps completed
15. Ayrton Badovini ITA BMW Italia S1000RR 4 laps completed
16. Jonathan Rea GBR Castrol Honda CBR1000RR 4 laps completed
17. Jakub Smrz CZE Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R 2 laps completed
18. Mark Aitchison AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 0 laps completed

Race two:

1. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1098R 38mins 17.851secs
2. Marco Melandri ITA Yamaha YZF R1 +1.267s
3. Eugene Laverty IRL Yamaha YZF R1 +2.043s
4. Leon Haslam GBR BMW Motorrad S1000RR +6.506s
5. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R +7.843s
6. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +8.360s
7. Joan Lascorz ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +15.285s
8. Ayrton Badovini ITA BMW Italia S1000RR +15.549s
9. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +16.278s
10. Noriyuki Haga JPN PATA Aprilia RSV-4 +22.996s
11. Javier Fores ESP BMW Italia S1000RR +43.132s
12. Maxime Berger FRA Supersonic Ducati 1098R +47.846s

Not Classified

13. Roberto Rolfo ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 19 laps completed
14. Jonathan Rea GBR Castrol Honda CBR1000RR 13 laps completed
15. Mark Aitchison AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 3 laps completed
16. Michel Fabrizio ITA Suzuki Alstare GSX-R1000 2 laps completed
17. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki RTS ZX-10R 0 laps completed

DNS. Jakub Smrz CZE Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R