World Superbike Valencia: Checa on the podium after dramatic raceday

Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) endured first race agony and second race relief at his home round, falling in race one before remounting to finish fifth, and then scoring a strong third in the second 23-lap race. He was the top Honda scorer of the day and in the championship overall, and now sits in fourth place on 72 points, tied with Troy Corser.

In the first race Checa had to fight his way through from a bad start and a combination of his sheer speed and the effect of several crashes in front put him into the podium places. He was second with ten laps to go, and ate into the lead of Max Neukirchner to put himself in his slipstream on the final lap. On the very last corner, Checa pushed hard on an inside line as he tried to pass, fell from his machine and ended in the gravel with Neukirchner, who broke his left collarbone. Checa restarted to finish top Honda rider in fifth, one place up on a resurgent Karl Muggeridge (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) and Gregorio Lavilla (Vent Axia VK Honda CBR1000RR) who was riding his 2008 machine for the first time.

Race one was not particularly kind to the other main Honda riders, with Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Althea Honda Ten Kate Honda CBR100RR) last into the top ten, Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Althea Ten Kate Honda Jr CBR1000RR) 12th in a race with 20 finishers, and Russell Holland 13th. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR100RR) was forced to retire on lap ten with an electrical problem. Luca Morelli (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) was the only finisher (in 18th) from the Alto Evolution Team after Shuhei Aoyama crashed on lap two when he lost the front.

In race two Checa was less than three seconds from the win after having to fight through the pack to lead the race, only for a small electronic problem to lose him some time. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) was a season best fourth, having qualified best Honda in sixth. Lavilla was 11th.

Kenan Sofuoglu finished 15th in race two, but Rolfo missed out on more points, in 17th. Holland was 19th, Muggeridge 20th after rear chatter affected his front grip and he almost crashed numerous times. Morelli was 23rd, Aoyama 24th.

In the points standings, Lavilla is 11th on 32 points, while Kiyonari and Sofuoglu follow on behind, with 30 for Kiyonari and 22 for Sofuoglu. Muggeridge is 14th with 20, Holland 20th with 10.

Checa said: “I had a bad start in race one but I made progress and on the last lap I tried to pass at a difficult point, but he closed the door. Unfortunately we both crashed and Max Neukirchner got injured and I hope he is back as soon as possible. This is racing and sometimes these things happen. In the second race I started well and got the lead but I had a traction control problem. I was able to cancel it and regain full power but it was impossible to catch Nori and Troy.”

Kiyonari said: “I was too slow at the start and I must improve in that area, but Fourth position is better than Phillip Island. Before the start I was confident in the bike and the settings, and I knew I could go fast but it was difficult to pass, especially Nieto.”

Rolfo said: “I’m really disappointed because in race one after a very good start I began having problems with my rear tyre. I think I lost a lot of positions. Without this problem I could have remained in the first six or seven places. We have lost an opportunity to gain a good result. My second start wasn’t as good as the first one. During the first laps I was very fast, but starting from the third lap I felt some vibrations coming from my rear wheel. I couldn’t really chase the riders in front of me and the only thing I could do was try and finish the race.”

Sofuoglu said: “Considering all the crashes today I am glad I managed to stay on the bike and finish both races, but I cannot be happy with fighting for just one point. I hope I can improve my results when we go to my ‘home’ track of Assen for the next race. I know the track well and it’s a fast one, which suits my riding style. I need to show some potential and put in a better performance for my team and myself.”

Muggeridge said: “Race one was good and we did good times through the race. In the second I had something chattering with the rear tyre and that affected my front grip. I came close to crashing about 40 times!”

Aoyama said: “I had a very fast crash in race one when the front tyre just went away from me. My team had to fix my bike for race two because we only have one 2008 machine each now.”