Get to know the grid: WSBK- Carlos Checa #7

Carlos Checa #7

Personal opinion: a very experienced rider, been racing for a long time, still hasn’t wan a championship, and I doubt he will this year, he may get a few podiums, may even finish the year in the top 10 or if very lucky top 5- but no more then that

World Superbikes from Valencia

Carlos Checa (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) and Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare) crash on the last lap of the 1st race at Valencia 6th April 2008

(a controversial crash- check went on to win the second race Max Neukirchner went to the hospital with a fractured left collarbone, At the end the winner was Lanzi, followed by Bayliss and Corser. Checa rejoined for 5th., in race 2 Checa came in 3rd)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carlos Checa
Carlos Checa after winning Race 1 WSBK USA Round
Nationality	Spanish
Date of birth	October 15, 1972 (1972-10-15) (age 36)
Place of birth	Barcelona, Spain
Website	carloscheca.com
SBK Record
Current team	Hannspree Ten Kate Honda
Bike number	7
World Championships	0
Race starts	12
Race Wins	2
Podium finishes	6
Pole positions	1
Fastest laps	3
2008 Championship position	2nd (166pts)

Carlos Checa
Nationality	Spanish
Grand Prix motorcycle racing career
Active years	1993 - 2007
Teams	Honda, Yamaha, Ducati
Grands Prix	220
Championships	0
Wins	2
Podium finishes	24
Career points	1601
Pole positions	3
Fastest laps	5
First Grand Prix	1993 125cc European Grand Prix
First win	1996 500cc Catalan Grand Prix
Last win	1998 500cc Madrid Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix	2007 MotoGP Valencian Grand Prix

Carlos Checa (born October 15, 1972 in Barcelona, Spain) is a professional motorcycle road racer. After racing in 500cc and MotoGP for over a decade, mostly on Honda and Yamaha machinery with and without full manufacturer support, he moves to the Superbike World Championship on a Honda for 2008. He has two Grand Prix victories. He has a younger brother, David Checa, who is also a motorcycle racer and also competes in the Superbike World Championship for 2008.

Grand Prix

Checa made his debut in 125cc and 250cc motorcycle racing in 1993 for Honda. In 1995 he moved up to the Blue Riband 500cc class as a replacement for Alberto Puig, a fellow Spaniard who broke both his legs in a horrifying crash in France. Carlos shocked the paddock by being on the pace and nearly winning the Barcelona race.

He continued with the team until 1998, the year he suffered near fatal injuries with a crash at Donington Park. He crashed at Craner Curves and was initially thought to have suffered only scrapes and bruises before complaining of pain. Hours later he had lost his vision and was listed in critical condition. He fought back to ride that year before racing for Yamaha as Max Biaggi's team mate on two and four-strokes. He nearly won many races but unfortunately crashed after taking the lead. One such race was at Rio de Janeiro in 2002 when he stalled on the starting line then, came through to lead before crashing a corner later.

When Valentino Rossi joined Yamaha he was Carlos' team-mate for one year, before Carlos moved to Ducati in 2005. In 2006 he switched to ride for the Tech-3 Yamaha team, proving much steadier than in previous years and comfortably beating team-mate James Ellison but wasn't much a threat to the rest of the field, as they were on Dunlop tyres. He struggled as the sole LCR Honda rider in 2007, with the 800cc Honda proving uncompetitive for many riders. At the Sachsenring Checa got an updated frame, which other non-works Honda riders had found uncompetitive - this is believed to be due to Checa using the same Michelin tyres as the works team, the other Hondas being on Bridgestones.

Superbike World Championship

For the 2008, Checa left MotoGP to join the Ten Kate Honda team in the Superbike World Championship as a replacement for 2007 champion James Toseland. At Valencia he challenged Max Neukirchner for the win at the final corner, resulting in a collision which broke Neukirchner's collarbone. Checa's first two wins (following four podium finishes) both came in the meeting at the Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City on June 1 2008. He did not reach the podium again, but consistent results elsewhere allowed him to finish 5th overall in the series.

2009 so far:

In Australia Phillip Island, 27-28 February 1 March 2009- had a bad start to the season and finished 12th on race one and 13th in race 2.

In Qatar - Losail, 12-13-14 March 2009- Checa took fifth after starting from seventh on the grid, but could do no better than 13th in the second outing after suffering chatter problems in both races.

Suzuka 8 Hours

Riyuichi Kiyonari and Carlos Checa won the 2008 Suzuka 8 Hours. Kiyonari and Checa rode for Dream Honda Racing 11.

Career statistics

By season

Season	Class	Moto	Race	Win	Pod	Pole	FLap	Pts	Plcd	WCh
1993	125 cc	Honda RS125	1	0	0	0	0	9	27th	-
	250 cc	Honda RS250	6	0	0	0	0	9	23rd	-
1994	250 cc	Honda RS250	14	0	0	0	0	54	12th	-
1995	250 cc	Honda RS250	7	0	0	0	0	45	13th	-
	500 cc	Honda NSR500	5	0	0	0	1	26	16th	-
1996	500 cc	Honda NSR500	14	1	3	0	1	124	8th	-
1997	500 cc	Honda NSR500	15	0	3	0	1	119	8th	-
1998	500 cc	Honda NSR500	11	1	3	1	1	139	4th	-
1999	500 cc	Yamaha YZR500	16	0	1	0	0	125	7th	-
2000	500 cc	Yamaha YZR500	16	0	4	0	0	155	6th	-
2001	500 cc	Yamaha YZR500	15	0	3	0	0	137	6th	-
2002	MotoGP	Yamaha YZR-M1	16	0	4	1	1	141	5th	-
2003	MotoGP	Yamaha YZR-M1	16	0	0	0	0	123	7th	-
2004	MotoGP	Yamaha YZR-M1	16	0	1	1	0	117	7th	-
2005	MotoGP	Ducati GP5	17	0	2	0	0	138	9th	-
2006	MotoGP	Yamaha YZR-M1	17	0	0	0	0	75	15th	-
2007	MotoGP	Honda RC212V	18	0	0	0	0	65	14th	-
Total			220	2	24	3	5	1601		0

[edit] By class

Class	Season	1st GP	1st Pod	1st Win	Race	Win	Podiums	Pole	FLap	Pts	WChmp
125 cc	1993	1993 Europe	N/A	N/A	1	0	0	0	0	9	0
250 cc	1993-1995	1993 S. Africa	N/A	N/A	27	0	0	0	0	108	0
500 cc	1995-2001	1995 Britain	1996 Malaysia	1996 Catalunya	92	2	17	1	4	825	0
MotoGP	2002-2007	2002 Japan	2002 Japan	N/A	100	0	7	2	1	659	0
Total	1993-2007				220	2	24	3	5	1601	0