Misano- WSBK- Day 1

WSBK: Fabrizio edges out Spies

At end of Misano Q1( moto-live.com)

19/06/09 19:16

Michel Fabrizio Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) slammed in two quick laps in rapid succession at the end of today's Misano Q1 to end up with the provisional pole at the Misano World Circuit. The Italian's time of 1 minute 37.016 seconds was good enough to edge out Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) from the top slot, after the Texan rookie had headed the standings almost throughout. Third and fourth on the provisional front row of the grid went to the still injured Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare) and British rider Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). The top 19 positions in today's standings are all contained within one second, confirming the current equilibrium reigning in Superbike. The provisional front row is also made up of four different manufacturers - Ducati, Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda – with a fifth, Kawasaki, opening up the second row following a superb performance by Broc Parkes. The session also confirmed the constant improvement of the Ten Kate Honda team, with Ryuichi Kiyonari and Carlos Checa in sixth and seventh position respectively, ahead of points leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), four-tenths of a second down on his team-mate. After two difficult events, BMW have bounced back into the top 10, with Troy Corser running well throughout and ending up tenth overall. This time round BMW went better than Aprilia, as Shinya Nakano could only manage 11th and Max Biaggi 16th, eight-tenths off the polesitter. For the moment John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda) is outside the Superpole top 20, the American down in 26th position on his return to action following his Assen crash. Misano Superbike - Free Practice 1st Session (worldsbk.com) 1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'38.049 284 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'38.154 3 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'38.591 4 36 Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'38.616 5 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'38.645 6 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'38.746 7 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'38.750 8 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'38.935 9 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'39.043 10 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'39.047 11 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'39.095 12 10 Nieto F. (ESP) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'39.154 13 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'39.155 14 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'39.165 15 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'39.181 16 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'39.302 17 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'39.590 18 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'39.659 19 121 Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'39.814 20 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'39.863 21 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'39.907 22 2 Hacking J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'39.978 23 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'40.196 24 53 Polita A. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'40.297 25 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'40.305 26 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'40.385 27 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1'40.443 28 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'40.772 29 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'42.365 Misano Superbike - Qualifying 1st Session (worldsbk.com) 1 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'37.016 2 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'37.102 3 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'37.209 4 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'37.238 5 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'37.281 6 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'37.396 7 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'37.441 8 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'37.451 9 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'37.490 10 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'37.503 11 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'37.630 12 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'37.702 13 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'37.710 14 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'37.773 15 36 Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'37.786 16 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'37.813 17 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'37.898 18 10 Nieto F. (ESP) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'37.979 19 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'37.992 20 2 Hacking J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'38.441 21 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'38.522 22 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'38.671 23 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'38.755 24 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'38.827 25 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1'38.828 26 121 Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'38.856 27 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'39.067 28 53 Polita A. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'39.308 29 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'40.489 Hopkins is back on track At Misano 19/06/09 15:51 (moto-live.com) American John Hopkins makes his return to the series this weekend for a second chance to show how well he can fare on the Stiggy Racing Honda Superbike. The high profile entrant to the Superbike series made a promising start with his new team at Valencia, but had to back down only two weeks later, after a horrific crash in the opening practice at Assen sidelined the ex-MotoGP rider for four rounds. A tough and determined John Hopkins has recuperated from his injuries in just six weeks time though, and is eager to hunt down the front runners of the Superbike field once again at one of his favourite tracks this weekend. " Misano is a track I do like a lot. I had some decent results there in the past, and got on the podium in the 2007 MotoGP race. It is a circuit I enjoy well, and the audience is always great. People really take a liking towards the World Superbike series, and I expect the atmosphere to be similar to the one we received at the MotoGP races”, he said. “It is going to be an exciting race and hopefully I can be out there from the start. Right now, I am not going to make any promises of running at the front of the field. I am just taking it step-by-step and focus on getting a good feeling with the bike again and set the best possible results for the team and myself." In the remaining seven rounds and 14 races of the championship there are another 350 points to divide, before the new World Superbike champion will be crowned. Ben Spies Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (2nd, 1'37.102) "It was a good first day for us, the second session we opted to run race set up and we never put any new tyres on. A race is 22 laps around here, on the 22nd lap today we were half a second off the fastest lap done here. I'm pleased with that and we ran our whole race simulation in the 37's. I'm ecstatic about the bike and tomorrow if it stays dry we know we've got a good package. We know if we put sticky tyres on it's definitely going to go fast. If it rains, I guess we get some good rain time and go play in the rain. It's still tough for us coming and learning these new tracks so I'm glad we picked it up as quickly as we did. There is still some more settings to find to be more comfortable but the speed is there. If it is wet then I hope we'll be up there too, I don't have as much time on this bike in the wet but I like riding in the rain." Tom Sykes Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (19th, 1'37.992) "I think today we've made big improvements, this morning we lost a bit of track time with a couple of things but this afternoon we went from a high 39 to a 37.9 so we've found two seconds. I'm only eight or nine tenths of the front guys which is not a lot and considering it's my first time here it's not bad. We can still make improvements over the weekend and hopefully we'll make it work and see what tomorrow brings." yamaha-racing.com

WSBK : Haga dominates at Valencia

from: http://www.moto-live.com

Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) dominated both races in round 3 of the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia.

In front of 65,000 spectators the Japanese rider notched up wins number 35 and 36 in his ten-year long World Superbike career to lead the table with 135 points.

Team-mate Michel Fabrizio also had a positive weekend, the young Italian taking second and third while the remaining podium places went to Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare) in race 1 and rookie Texan Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) in the second encounter.

Race 1

Haga led virtually from lights to flag after moving past early leader Neukirchner at the start of lap 3, the championship leader adding a chunk of points to his advantage over Spies, who then crashed out while fighting with the German. Fabrizio took the second slot to give the factory Ducati team a 1-2 finish. Front-row man Regis Laconi (Ducati DFX) finished just one place away from the podium, while Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing) was the first Honda rider to the flag ahead of Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare).

Yamaha's race was saved with the positive form of Tom Sykes in seventh ahead of Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing), who recovered well from a lowly grid position. Broc Parkes finished an encouraging tenth for Kawasaki, with Superbike rookie John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda) one place behind. Riders who crashed out included Troy Corser (BMW), who was running fourth in the early laps, and Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who remounted but retired.

Noriyuki Haga: “Not so bad! Anyway I had a good feeling this weekend, bike and the team have both been working well. At the start it was good but I had already decided I would go into the lead in the early laps. Finally I kept my own race. Of course I want to win both races today but it's not so easy. I now have a very good feeling with this bike, it is so easy to ride, that's why I was able to push, also I did very consistent laps with this tyre.”

Michel Fabrizio: “For me Valencia is very difficult but this result is fantastic. I grew a beard to bring me good luck, and it worked so maybe I will keep it now! It's a great result for the team, we have worked very well from Friday after the first disappointing couple of races.”

Max Neukirchner: “Even for us it was really hard. We were always in the top 10 this weekend but didn't find perfect set-up. But during the practices we changed some things and in the end we found a very good way and I am so happy to finish on the podium. I was in second place for so long, but even with this result I'm so glad for my team and our new sponsor.”

Race 2

Haga dominated the second race in a similar fashion, this time taking the lead on lap 5. He then pulled out to win by over five seconds, taking a new lap record in 1 minute 34.618 seconds in the process. Spies managed to prevent a second Ducati 1-2 of the day with the runner-up slot but never managed to challenge Haga for the win. Third went to Fabrizio, who again had to hold off Laconi throughout the 23 laps for the final podium slot.

Haslam scored another fifth place, again the best Honda rider to the flag, ahead of Checa and Neukirchner, who faded away with tyre problems after starting off well. Biaggi came home in eighth place again, after prevailing in a five-way battle with Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda), Sykes, Shane Byrne (Ducati Sterilgarda) and Hopkins. The final point went to Corser, while Parkes failed to get into the top 15.

Noriyuki Haga: “We did a great job this weekend. I think one of the reasons is that after Qatar I did some ‘age training! But anyway today 50 points is a great advantage over Ben and I'm very happy with this double win.”

Ben Spies: “I was trying as hard as we could in the first couple of laps, but had a couple of problems and didn't quite get rolling. By the time we got into second, I would have needed to be right on the back of Nori to stay with him because he was riding at a really good pace. I just didn't quite have those 3 or 4 tenths today so I will come back at Assen and try to step it up.”

Michel Fabrizio: “I didn't expect these results here at Valencia, at the most a top 5 position, because it's a difficult track for me. I'm really happy, the team gave me a lot of confidence. It was a really tough battle with Laconi, who was right behind me throughout the race. He brakes really late, I'm amazed he never managed to pass me!”

from: http://eurosport.yahoo.com

Full World Superbike Championship rider standings (After 3 rounds of 14 - Previous position in brackets)

1. (1) Noriyuki Haga Ducati Xerox 135 points

2. (2) Ben Spies Yamaha WSB 95

3. (3) Max Neukirchner Suzuki Alstare Brux 65

4. (11) Michel Fabrizio Ducati Xerox 60

5. (5) Leon Haslam Stiggy Honda 58

6. (7) Regis Laconi DFX Ducati 56

7. (4) Max Biaggi Aprilia 54

8. (6) Tom Sykes Yamaha WSB 47

9. (10) Yukio Kagayama Suzuki Alstare Brux 35

10. (8) Jonathan Rea Ten Kate Honda 33

11. (13) Ryuichi Kiyonari Ten Kate Honda 32

12. (14) Carlos Checa Ten Kate Honda 31

13. (9) Shinya Nakano Aprilia 27

14. (16) Shane Byrne Sterilgarda Ducati 26

15. (12) Troy Corser BMW Alpha 23

16. (15) Jakub Smrz Guandalini Ducati 18

17. (17) Ruben Xaus BMW Alpha 17

18. (-) Roberto Rolfo Stiggy Honda 9

19. (20) Broc Parkes Kawasaki WSB 8

20. (18) Tommy Hill Althea Honda 6

21. (19) Roberto Rolfo Stiggy Honda 3

22. (-) Makoto Tamada Kawasaki WSB 2

Full World Superbike Championship rider standings (After 3 rounds of 14 - Previous position in brackets)

1. (1) Ducati 135 points

2. (2) Yamaha 110

3. (3) Honda 73

4. (5) Suzuki 65

5. (4) Aprilia 57

6. (6) BMW 31

7. (7) Kawasaki 8

Fri+Sat news from WSBK- Round 3 - Valencia

Ben Spies took anther pole, after a slow start for the weekend he found his pas on Saturday where he took his 3rd pole out of 3 rounds.
As I predicted the other day, laconi is improving every round and today he proved me right by qualifying second. So well done Laconi.
Shinya Nakano had a bad crash this morning, broke his left collarbone in Saturday morning’s second qualifying session. Hope he gets well soon.
Haga is needs to win at least one of the races tomorrow, British Eurosport presenter Tony Carter believes this weekend's WSB outing is a crucial one for Noriyuki Haga and the Xerox Ducati campaign for 2009.
More details bellow:

Spies (Yamaha) powers to Superpole hat-trick at Valencia

Saturday, 04 April 2009 17:36 from: worldsbk.com

Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) powered to his third Superpole position in three races at the Valencia track, the 24 year-old Texan once again proving to be the master of the new format. Spies, who had to switch to his second R1 machine in Superpole 2 after his first one developed a technical fault, set a record-breaking time of 1 minute 33.270 seconds, over half-a-second quicker than Neukirchner's best mark from last year. Flanking Spies on the front row will be a trio of Ducati 1098 machines, headed by the surprising Regis Laconi, who won on this track back in 1999 with a Yamaha 500. The two factory Ducati Xerox riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio are in third and fourth place respectively.

Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike): "I was a bit worried about having to change bikes, we had an OK second Superpole but coming in we had a problem with the bike and had to revert back to the other one. It had a bit of a different set-up and I didn't get to try it in the morning practice, but luckily the change worked out well."

Regis Laconi (Ducati DFX): "I'm very happy because the bike is working really good on this track and we are ready. I won my first race in GP ten years ago and it's just a pleasure to be up here one more time. A big thanks to DFX and Ducati for giving me a great bike. I have had a couple of difficult years but I am happy now that I am back on a Ducati"

Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox): "I'm very happy for the front row. In the weekend I find a good solution for the race and I've already decided for the tyre. And I am feeling confident, so tomorrow I will try to do my best and win twice and that is my target"

Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox): "I've come from two races where I haven't had very good results, but we found our way already on the Friday and I'm hoping for two good results tomorrow. We made a change on the bike and the feeling is much better now, similar to what it was like in pre-season testing."

The second row sees a double pairing, with Suzuki ahead of Honda. Yukio Kagayama took fifth from Max Neukirchner, while Jonathan Rea was seventh ahead of Carlos Checa. The Spanish rider just managed to avoid being eliminated in Superpole 2, setting his best time despite a fall. Broc Parkes again put in a positive performance for Kawasaki, setting 13th quickest time on his ZX-10R machine, just ahead of the BMW of Troy Corser, who had been expecting to go better in Superpole after a positive qualifying session. Once again the first knock-out phase saw some illustrious victims with Tom Sykes (Yamaha World Superbike) and Max Biaggi (Aprilia), one of the quickest riders throughout the day, not making the cut. The other Aprilia rider Shinya Nakano missed the Superpole after breaking his left collarbone in a crash in the morning. He was operated on today with the aim of being ready for the next round at Assen.

Times: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'33.270; 2. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'33.955; 3. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'34.082; 4. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'34.259; 5. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'34.755; 6. Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'34.903; 7. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'35.056; 8. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'35.346 9. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'34.536; 10. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'34.655; 11. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'34.684; 12. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'34.742; 13. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'34.823; 14. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'34.863; 15. Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 1'35.082; 16. Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'35.251; 17. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'35.203; 18. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'35.204; 19) Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'35.806; 20. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'35.416

FYI- Motogp rider casey Stoner pole time in Valencia in 2008 was 1'31.502 and Marco melendis qualifying time (last on the grid) was 1'34.174 (that means he would have finished 5th in WSBK.

Nakano hurt at Valencia.

Sat 04 Apr, 06:00 PM from http://eurosport.yahoo.com/

Shinya Nakano will take no further part in the Valencia World Superbike weekend after breaking his left collarbone in Saturday morning’s second qualifying session.

The WSBK rookie, ninth in the championship with a best finish of fourth in the opening two rounds, was thrown from his Aprilia RSV4 after a mechanical failure.

The former MotoGP rider, eleventh in Friday’s first qualifying, underwent surgery afterwards and now faces a race against time to be fit for round four of the 2009 championship, at Assen on April 24-26.

Team-mate Max Biaggi will thus be the lone Aprilia rider in Sunday’s Valencia WSBK races. The Roman, fastest in Friday qualifying and Saturday free practice, was caught out in Superpole and will start just 18th.

Carter: Crucial weekend for Haga

Eurosport - Sat, 04 Apr 15:39:00 2009 from: http://eurosport.yahoo.com

British Eurosport presenter Tony Carter believes this weekend's WSB outing is a crucial one for Noriyuki Haga and the Xerox Ducati campaign for 2009.

Actually, scrub that - it's the most significant weekend for Haga for this year.

I'll explain. If Haga doesn't take the top spot in Valencia this weekend, at a circuit where he's constantly been a podium finisher, and multiple winner, over the years then he will struggle to dominate Ben Spies and the Yamaha anywhere else.

If Spies gets out on Sunday afternoon and finds his way to the top of the podium then it's hard to see how he will be stopped. He's not raced at Valencia before, he's still getting to grips with the Yamaha and he's undoubtedly going to get bumped and barged around Valencia's tough turns.

All things that could and should slow him down, or at the very least allow the other riders out there to close the gap up to the flying American on the growling Yam.

It's more about the mental game this weekend. If Spies wins another race then he's taken four from five, and five from six if he does the double.

There will be many in the paddock who will rue that if he hadn't been forced to take a close-up inspection of the gravel trap in race one in Phillip Island then Spies would, right now, be most likely sitting on four race wins from four races.

So for this weekend Haga has it all to do. He knows the bike, he clearly gets on well with it too. He knows the track and knows how to get a fast lap and a good result there. He is as aggressive as any of them on track and will, without hesitation, be more than up for the job in hand when Sunday's races come round.

But this will be a telling raceday. In previous years people have levelled the criticism at Haga that he only comes good towards the second half of the season. Well that might be true, but he's leading the championship going into Valencia so by anyone's standards he's had a strong start to his 2009 campaign.

But given how Spies performed in Qatar a couple of weeks ago, and the fact that he seems so very strong right now, I wouldn't bet on him getting out there and just wiping the floor with people again.

I can't tell you how much I don't want that to happen. With all the respect in the world for Spies and his Yamaha crew I am so very keen to see someone who is not either Haga or Spies taking the win and we will have to see how it plays out. The beauty of Valencia is that, as we have seen over the years, it can throw up the odd curveball.

Haga will want to leave the track on Sunday evening leading the world, yet Spies must be convinced that he can get the upper hand this weekend.

But don't discount the other front men. Strange things have happened at the Spanish track and we all know how well a certain Carlos Checa goes when he's got a home crowd to play in front of.

Providing he doesn't skittle another rider off on the last corner of the last lap again...

Oh and we have a certain Mr Hopkins joining us too. Keen to prove a point or two, the Stiggy Honda man is.

Tony Carter / Eurosport

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