2011 World Superbike
Spoiler Alert: Silverstone World Superbike results below
Carlos Checa was completely unstoppable Sunday at Silverstone, Round 9 of the 2011 World Superbike Championship.
After doubling at the 3.666-mile UK circuit, Checa now has 10 wins in the 2011 World Superbike Championship, extending his lead to 343 points, 62 over the reigning WSBK Champion, Alitalia Aprilia’s Max Biaggi. This was his fourth double of the season following Phillip Island, Miller Motorsports Park and Misano.
But that wasn’t all the hype surrounding the Althea Ducati 1198R pilot following Silverstone WSBK. After Checa’s Race-one win, Ducati garnered its 300th World Superbike victory, and 301st in Race 2. And the second race was also the Spaniard’s 100th Superbike start.
Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati 1198R Superbike) says: “It was a wonderful day. I didn’t believe that it would be possible to win here, but we managed to do it twice over! To achieve the 300th win for Ducati is an important result and we are all very happy to have been able to repeat this in race two.
“I thank everyone involved, my team, Ducati and all the sponsors. I also heard that I have now completed 100 SBK races. I didn’t know this but the important thing is that I still feel young and am not yet 100 years old!”
Joining Checa on the podium in both races was the Yamaha World Superbike duo of Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri, respectively.
Checa, who started from fourth on the Silverstone World SBK grid, remained in that position by the end of lap one. He then battled with Pata Aprilia’s Noriyuki Haga, who eventually crashed out, and pole-sitter John Hopkins, the wildcard entry on the Samsung Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000.
Checa soon passed both Haga and the American Hopkins, and set his eyes on then-leader Laverty. On the sixth lap, Checa took the lead and wasn’t challenged again; the 38-year-old would finish 3.3 seconds ahead of Laverty, with Melandri in third. En route to Ducati’s 300th win, Checa also set the fastest lap of the race.
In the second race, Checa was in fifth at the second corner, and moved up to second by the end of the first lap. Again, as he did in Race 1, Checa took the lead from Laverty on Lap 6 and was never challenged again. He would finish Race 2 at Silverstone World Superbike 2.2 seconds ahead of Laverty, with Melandri in third.
With three races remaining, Checa has an optimal opportunity to take his first World Superbike title.
Carlos Checa says: “We have a good advantage for now but as we all know, it is hard to build up points and easy to lose them. We now head to tracks where I have had some good results in the past but we are taking it one step at a time; nothing is a given. It’s been a fantastic weekend that I will remember forever. Now the team can go on holiday in a more relaxed state of mind.”
Also, following Sunday’s Silverstone Superbike, Ducati continues to lead the manufacturer’s championship with 355 points; Aprilia and Yamaha have 320 each. As for the reigning World Superbike Champion Biaggi, he had an 11-4 finish.
2011 World Superbike: Silverstone Results:
Race 1 Results:
1. Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 38’06.477
2. Eugene Laverty Yamaha GBR 0’03.304
3. Marco Melandri Yamaha ITA 0’04.782
4. Leon Haslam BMW GBR 0’07.116
5. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0’11.057
6. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati FRA 0’21.899
7. Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ESP 0’22.308
8. Maxime Berger Ducati FRA 0’22.734
9. Troy Corser BMW AUS 0’25.491
10. Ayrton Badovini BMW ITA 0’25.725
11. Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 0’25.844
12. James Toseland BMW GBR 0’45.578
13. Roberto Rolfo Kawasaki ITA 0’51.650
14. Jon Kirkham Yamaha GBR 0’57.310
15. Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 1’36.457
Race 2 Results:
1. Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 38’03.361
2. Eugene Laverty Yamaha GBR 0’02.274
3. Marco Melandri Yamaha ITA 0’03.675
4. Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 0’03.960
5. Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0’04.405
6. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati FRA 0’10.958
7. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0’11.387
8. Leon Haslam BMW GBR 0’11.496
9. Michel Fabrizio Suzuki ITA 0’12.247
10. Ayrton Badovini BMW ITA 0’19.705
11. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0’19.753
12. Maxime Berger Ducati FRA 0’21.582
13. James Toseland BMW GBR 0’27.235
14. Mark Aitchison Kawasaki AUS 0’30.702
15. Jon Kirkham Yamaha GBR 0’42.579
2011 World Superbike Points Standings:
1. Carlos Checa, Ducati 343
2. Max Biaggi, Aprilia 281
3. Marco Melandri, Yamaha 272
4. Eugene Laverty, Yamaha 208
5. Leon Haslam, BMW 158
6. Leon Camier, Aprilia 146
7. Michel Fabrizio, Suzuki 141
8. Ayrton Badovini, BMW 118
9. Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati 109
10. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia 99
