Checa on the edge of glory

Ducati rider Carlos Checa will complete his ascension to 2011 world Superbike champion in France next weekend.

That was after the 38-year-old delivered another sensational performance in round 11 of the championship in Italy overnight, which now has him a 97pt leader over nearest rival, Yamaha’s Marco Melandri.

Checa only has to leave France with a 51pt buffer to ensure he becomes the first Spaniard to win the championship since its inception in 1988.

After starting from pole position for the sixth time this year, Checa was third and first in the two races at Imola, while Melandri didn’t produce his usual bag of tricks and was well back with an 8-6 scoreboard.

And Checa even had some luck on his side in race two after Jonathan Rea’s Honda expired a few laps from the finish when he held a commanding 3.5-second lead.

“Race one was really exciting, I battled hard with (Tom) Sykes and it was a clean, fun race,” said Checa. Then race two was even more thrilling! I’m sorry for Rea who had the pace to win, and for Melandri who was perhaps a little unlucky this weekend but of course I’m extremely happy to have won here at Imola.

“The championship is not yet over but we are very close to the title. We go on to the next round and what will be, will be. It’s been a perfect weekend; I’m over the moon and want to thank the entire team.”

Mark Aitchison (Kawasaki) was again the leading Australian, just edging out compatriot Troy Corser in race one for the final spot in the top 10, followed by a ninth in the second.

Corser didn’t last the distance in race two after he could “hear a strange noise” coming from his factory BMW.

Queenslander Chris Vermeulen (Kawasaki) did not compete.

Race one at the classic Imola circuit was a cliff-hanger, with Sykes the early leader before Rea took over proceedings with Japanese veteran Noriyuki Haga (Aprilia) right on his hammer.

But Rea, using a new electronics package on his Honda for the first time, didn’t crumble under the relentless pressure, and he flashed over the line 0.111 seconds ahead of Haga, with Checa swooping by Sykes on the last lap to nail third position – and a few extra points gained on Melandri. Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) and Sylvain Guintoli (Ducati) completed the top five.

Race two was again shaping as a Rea benefit before a connector came loose on his battery, with Checa riding his luck to make it 12 wins for the season as well as setting a new lap record.

But at least Rea had proven that he was back in the game after an injury-interrupted year, and he will also have an updated CBR1000RR to play with in the 2012 season.

“Race one was pretty emotional, because it’s been a long journey back,” said Rea. “Last season ended for me here, so it’s a credit to all the people around me – my family, my friends, my girlfriend, and of course the team – who have got me back to the top step.

“We’ve come a long way and I’m not going to get wrapped up in the negative of race two. What happened was a failure of a one-Euro battery connector so in my heart I know we had two really good races today.

“The biggest result was the continued development of the new electronics system, so I can’t thank the team enough for the faith they’ve shown in me to keep pushing with that development.”

The ageless Haga was again second in race two, well ahead of Leon Camier (Aprilia) who battled hard with Laverty and Leon Haslam (BMW) right to the death knell.

Camier’s teammate and reigning title holder Max Biaggi was absent from Imola with a broken foot, but he still remains third in the standings ahead of Laverty and Haslam.

WORLD SUPERSPORT
Australian Broc Parkes (Kawasaki) was a hard-fought third at Imola, behind Honda pair Fabien Foret and Sam Lowes.

But the win was a fortuitous one for Foret after championship leader Chaz Davies’ Yamaha expired in spectacular fashion when he was leading the race by over 10 seconds.

Davies now leads Foret 171 to 136 with two rounds remaining, with Salom on 123 and Parkes on 120.

IMOLA WORLD SUPERBIKE RESULTS
Race one: 21 laps
1 Jonathan Rea, Great Britain, Honda
2 Noriyuki Haga, Japan, Aprilia +0.111
3 Carlos Checa, Spain, Ducati +9.449
4 Tom Sykes, Great Britain, Kawasaki +9.792
5 Eugene Laverty, Great Britain, Yamaha +14.699
6 Sylvain Guintoli, France, Ducati +16.820
7 Jakub Smrz, Czech Republic, Ducati +24.227
8 Marco Melandri, Italy, Yamaha +24.935
9 Ayrton Badovini, Italy, BMW +25.224
10 Joan Lascorz, Spain, Kawasaki +25.487
11 Mark Aitchison, Australia, Kawasaki +26.148
12 Troy Corser, Australia, BMW +26.444

Fastest lap and new record: Haga – 1:47.960

Race two: 21 laps
1 Checa
2 Haga +4.631
3 Leon Camier, Great Britain, Aprilia +15.159
4 Laverty +17.195
5 Leon Haslam, Great Britain, BMW +17.388
6 Melandri +18.533
7 Guintoli +19.615
8 Lascorz +20.063
9 Aitchison +24.194
10 Badovini +28.485
DNF Corser + 12 laps

Fastest lap and new record: Checa -- 1:47.934

WORLD SUPERBIKE STANDINGS (AFTER ROUND 11 OF 13):
1 Checa 417
2 Melandri 320
3 Max Biaggi, Italy, Aprilia 281
4 Laverty 256
5 Haslam 187
6 Camier 171
7 Guintoli 158
8 Haga 155
9 Badovini 147
10 Michel Fabrizio, Italy, Suzuki 141
15 Corser 71
19 Aitchison 36
21 Chris Vermeulen, Australia, Kawasaki 14

Next round: Magny-Cours, France, September 30-October 2