Carlos Checa seals a double win at Phillip Island.
Phillip Island - Photo: worldsbk.com Spain's Carlos Checa (Ducati Althea Racing) scored a splendid double win at Phillip Island, a repeat of his double win at Imola last September. Just like in the first race, no one was able to run with the Spanish rider and he finished a couple of seconds ahead of Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia). The reigning world champion battled it out for the runner-up slot in the final stages with an impressive Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team), just getting the edge at the line. Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) emerged from a battering and bruising weekend with a fourth place that partially repaid him for his testing misfortune when he crashed heavily. Rea finished ahead of the two Leons, Haslam (BMW Motorrad) and Camier (Aprilia Alitalia).
Spain's Carlos Checa - Ducati Althea Racing - Photo: worldsbk.com
Checa talks of his perfect weekend. The 2011 World Superbike Championship began in the best possible way for the Althea Racing team and Carlos Checa who dominated the weekend, finishing every session in front and snatching pole before running away with the double victory. Race 1: Carlos got away fast, finding himself in second position, behind Laverty on the Yamaha. The Spanish rider made light work of passing Laverty a couple of laps later, to take command of the race. He immediately began to build up a gap and by mid-race he had a four second advantage over Biaggi in second position, then winning the race in convincing style. Race 2: Carlos was once again in second place; after the first corners, he was able to find a way past Haslam to take the lead, but the Englishman quickly responded. During the following lap Checa was back on the attack and this time he regained control in definitive fashion. From that point on, he ran a solitary race, managing his advantage in a near replica of race 1. He passed the chequered flag with an advantage of more than a second.
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