The 2011 World Superbike Championship began in the best possible way for the Althea Racing team and Carlos Checa who, after a weekend of domination, stormed to victory in both of today’s races at Phillip Island. It was a perfect weekend for Carlos and his Ducati 1198; he finished every session in front and snatched pole before running away with the double victory this afternoon.

Race 1:
Unfortunately certain sections of the track were still damp after a shower earlier in the day. Carlos nevertheless got away fast, finding himself in second position, behind Laverty on the Yamaha, by the end of the first lap. 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. Checa made no mistakes in managing the last phase and won this first race in convincing style, ahead of Biaggi (Aprilia), second, and Haslam (BMW), third.

Race 2:
Carlos was once again in second place at race start; 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 over Biaggi and Melandri in second and third respectively.

After the first of thirteen Superbike events, Carlos Checa, with today’s points, commands the rider’s classification with 50 points while, thanks to Carlos’ performance, Ducati leads the way in the manufacturer’s standings.


Carlos Checa (Race 1 - winner, Race 2 – winner)

“The sessions went extremely well and we knew we had good rhythm but you never know what might happen in the raecs, especially if you find a wet track on Sunday morning, as we did today. My strategy was to get ahead and keep pace as I knew my pace was stronger than that of my rivals. In Race 1, once past Laverty, I was able to find a good rhythm. It was a really great race. Every so often you have a weekend like that and we were lucky to be able to start the season in such a fantastic way. Race 2 was very similar, I managed the situation and we did it! A really great weekend in which we dominated from start to finish. We were also lucky with the weather; we couldn’t have asked for a better start. I want to thank Ducati and the team for believing in me. Next we head to Donington where we’ll continue to give 100%.""

Genesio Bevilacqua, General Manager di Althea Racing

“We completed all of the sessions, in fact the entire weekend, impeccably and everything went right. Carlos was extremely focused on the races and never lost concentration, not even when his rivals got closer at the end of the Superpole. We had worked on pace during the session so were in the right position at the start of the races. I want to thank the team, the boys coordinated everything perfectly, and also Carlos for his qualities both as a person and as a rider. I also thank Ducati who I believe can be satisfied with these results. Finally I thank our sponsors who continue to support us in these economically difficult times.”