2013 Ducati Alstare World Superbike News
Ducati Alstare’s Carlos Checa clearly isn’t up to par so far in the 2013 World Superbike Championship.
The 40-year-old Spaniard’s best finish in five rounds (10 races) was seventh, which occurred at round two in Aragon. The reason? An ongoing left shoulder issue, which forced Checa to miss four races
And though he had hoped to be strong at Donington Park this past weekend, Checa continued to struggle with his shoulder. The Ducati 1199 Panigale R pilot finished 12th in race one, and was forced to not start in race two due to “severe” shoulder pain.
But in typical Checa style, the 2011 World SBK Champ hopes to be fully fit for the next round at Portimao in two-weeks time.
Carlos Checa (Ducati Team Panigale 1199 R Superbike) says: “Seeing how the first race went, and the pain that I had in my shoulder both during and after the race, we decided that it was best not to force things by participating in the second.
“To tell the truth I thought things might be worse today, at what is one of the most physical tracks but, having said that, I need more time to recuperate and get my strength back as I’m suffering particularly in the changes of direction and when entering left-hand turns, where it’s important to have both arms at 100-percent.
“Of course it’s not an injury that affects me in my day to day life but at 300km/h it really hurts. Now we have two weeks, in which I’ll continue with the various treatments in preparation for Portimao where I hope to be stronger. From the next round I’d like to be able to focus more on the sporting side of things and less on health issues.”
In early May, Alstare Ducati reports that Checa received treatment for osseous edema to humerus of the left shoulder, or fluid in the tissues that causes inflammation and pain.
The 2013 WSBK began sour Checa. He earned the pole for Phillip Island SBK, the season opener, but crashed out in race one. Due to a concussion, he was forced to miss race two.
At round two in Aragon, Checa couldn’t keep the pace, finishing 7-8. This also occurred at round three in Assen, where Checa finished 10-10. Checa was then forced to miss Monza due to the issues, and again struggled at Donington.
After five of 15 rounds, Checa is 14th in the championship standings with 33 points, 140 behind the leader, Aprilia Racing Team’s Sylvain Guintoli.