Carlos Checa came away from the opening round of the 2011 World Superbike Championship with a maximum haul of 50 points after completing his second win of the day at Phillip Island!!!
Having cruised to a dominant victory in race one, Checa was similarly commanding in race two, making a definitive pass for the lead on lap three before stretching away to win.
A perfect start to his and Althea Ducati’s season, it marks the Spaniard’s sixth and seventh wins in World Superbikes, as well as his third weekend double.
Though he was beaten into the first corner once again, this time by Leon Haslam, Checa found himself in front by the end of the opening lap with an aggressive pass at MG. Superior straight line speed would see the BMW back in front at the start of lap two, but Checa would simply bide his time before easing back in front on lap three.
Quickly pulling away from the chasing pack, although his 1.1secs advantage at the finish looks fairly meagre on paper, there was never a doubt as to whom would emerge victorious.
With Checa holding station at the front, it was the fight for second between former MotoGP rivals Max Biaggi and Marco Melandri that did the job of enthralling spectators.
Having enjoyed a fairly lonely run to second in race one, Biaggi had plenty of company during race two as a poor start necessitated a determined fight back from seventh.
Battling past the BMWs of Haslam and Troy Corser, Biaggi would take Melandri with him, the pair swiftly breaking away to form their own podium battle. What followed was an entertaining exchange that evoked memories of their time in MotoGP, the Italians swapping positions continuously over the second-half of the race.
While Melandri seemingly had the measure of Biaggi through the bends, he would repeatedly see his efforts undone by his rival’s ability to simply draft pass on the home straight.
It was the advantage Biaggi needed to stay ahead at the chequered flag, the reigning champion completing his second podium appearance of the day to notch up a total of 40 points.
Despite losing out to Biaggi, Melandri’s can still be satisfied with a mightily impressive WSBK debut, one that suggests he will be amongst those to make a successful transition from MotoGP to Superbike racing.
Further back, Jonathan Rea bounced back from his race one disappointment to take a deserved fourth position, the Castrol Honda rider catching and passing Haslam on the final lap.
Having run at the front of the field early on, it was a frustrating race for BMW, with Haslam fading to fifth eventually, while Corser ruined his chances of a good result by running off the circuit whilst disputing second.
The same can be said for Eugene Laverty, who was up with Melandri in fifth place when he ran wide at MG and was forced to take a trip across the grass. He would recover to 15th to claim a single point.
An astonishing ride by Leon Camier would see him defy illness to finish in sixth position, the Aprilia rider even making up two places on the final lap at the expense of Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga.
Tom Sykes completed a second top ten finish of the day in ninth, but his Kawasaki team-mate Joan Lascorz comes away with a double DNF following a technical issue.
Having finished outside the points in race one, Ruben Xaus sneaked into the top ten aboard the second Castrol Honda, ahead of Jakub Smrz, Roberto Rolfo and Josh Waters, while James Toseland slipped to an eventual 14th having run as high as tenth initially.
Race results (1) - Phillip Island
1. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1098R 34mins 16.503s
2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +4.365s
3. Leon Haslam GBR BMW Motorrad S1000RR +10.719s
4. Eugene Laverty IRL Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 +11.266s
5. Marco Melandri ITA Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 +11.293s
6. Michel Fabrizio ITA Suzuki Alstare GSX-R1000 +12.039s
7. Jakub Smrz CZE Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R +20.294s
8. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki RTS ZX-10R +20.742s
9. Noriyuki Haga JPN PATA Aprilia RSV-4 +22.421s
10. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +25.822s
11. Roberto Rolfo ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +29.270s
12. Jonathan Rea GBR Castrol Honda CBR1000RR +31.059s
13. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +31.721s
14. Ayrton Badovini ITA BMW Italia S1000RR +36.389s
15. Bryan Staring AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +36.470s
16. Ruben Xaus ESP Castrol Honda CBR1000RR +41.928s
17. James Toseland GBR BMW Italia S1000RR +55.239s
18. Josh Waters AUS Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 +1min 00.312s
19. Mark Aitchison AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 00.316s
20. Maxime Berger FRA Supersonic Ducati 1098R +1min 30.125s
Not Classified
21. Joan Lascorz ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 13 laps completed
22. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R 6 laps completed
Race results (2) - Phillip Island
1. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1098R 34mins 15.041s
2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +1.188s
3. Marco Melandri ITA Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 +1.406s
4. Jonathan Rea GBR Castrol Honda CBR1000RR +10.563s
5. Leon Haslam GBR BMW Motorrad S1000RR +10.885s
6. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +16.914s
7. Noriyuki Haga JPN PATA Aprilia RSV-4 +17.558s
8. Michel Fabrizio ITA Suzuki Alstare GSX-R1000 +17.679s
9. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki RTS ZX-10R +18.070s
10. Ruben Xaus ESP Castrol Honda CBR1000RR +19.053s
11. Jakub Smrz CZE Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R +19.060s
12. Roberto Rolfo ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +23.771s
13. Josh Waters AUS Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 +23.956s
14. James Toseland GBR BMW Italia S1000RR +28.713s
15. Eugene Laverty IRL Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 +32.673s
16. Mark Aitchison AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +33.226s
17. Bryan Staring AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +42.598s
18. Maxime Berger FRA Supersonic Ducati 1098R +51.819s
19. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +55.738s
Not Classified
20. Joan Lascorz ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 14 laps completed
21. Ayrton Badovini ITA BMW Italia S1000RR 0 laps completed
Did Not Start
Sylvain Guintoli FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R
Crash.net / Eurosport
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