Checa Takes One Step Closer to Title, Fastest in Friday Qualifying
Carlos Checa and Althea Racing made a more than positive start to the Magny-Cours race weekend, closing both of today‟s sessions in first position and setting the pace for what will undoubtedly be a memorable weekend.
The first practice session of the twelfth round of the World Superbike Championship took place this morning at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in warm and sunny conditions (air temperature 25 ̊C, track 38 ̊C). A red flag, waved after a crash for Xaus in the opening minutes, delayed the session by fifteen minutes but once back on track, Checa was the first to lap in under 1m40, recording a 1m39.566 in the initial stage. By the end of the 60-minute session, he had lowered his best time by another half a second to close in first place with a best of 1m39.013.
Checa was back on track during the afternoon for first qualifying. He and his technicians got a lot of work done which allowed the Spaniard to record a fast lap of 1m38.915 towards mid-session. Despite the elevated temperatures (45 ̊C track temperature), all riders times dropped but at the close of play it was still Carlos on top of the pile, with a best time of 1m38.652 recorded in the final minutes. He thus closed first, ahead of Laverty and Guintoli.
Carlos Checa: “We‟ve worked really well today. We‟re missing a little grip and so concentrated on that for pretty much the entire session and by the end it looks like we found something. In these temperatures I guess it‟s going to be a problem for most people but we‟ll work more on that tomorrow. For the most part we‟re satisfied of course. I was able to find a good rhythm and record some fast times. There are a number of us within just a few tenths of each other so I think we‟ll see some close racing come Sunday.”
Checa is almost certain to be crowned World Superbike Champion after the completion of the first race on Sunday.
TIMES (QUALIFYING): 1. Checa (Ducati) 1‟38.652; 2. Laverty (Yamaha) 1‟38.6; 3. Guintoli (Ducati) 1‟38.7; 4. Sykes (Kawasaki) 1‟38.6; 5. Smrz (Ducati) 1‟38.9; 6. Rea (Honda) 1‟38.9; 7. Haslam (BMW) 1‟38.9; 8. Haga (Aprilia) 1‟39.0
Source: Althea Racing
If you liked this post please consider becoming a Fan of Ducati News Today on Facebook and Following us on Twitter.
Want More?
Read More Posts on Carlos Checa
Read More Posts like this in our World Superbike category
Try These Related Posts:
