Checa Does It In Portimao
Cycle News Staff | October 16, 2011
Athea Racing Ducati’s Carlos Checa won his 15th race of the season in race one at Portimao in Portugal, the newly crowned World Champion beating Sylvain Guintoli and the Effenbert Liberty Ducati, the Frenchman surging away at the start of the race.With Guintoli looking to be headed to his first-ever World Superbike race victory, Checa wasn’t giving up and he fought back from a bad start to work his way into second. Then he kept moving forward, passing Guintoli with three laps to go. Once ahead, Checa would pull away to beat the Frenchman by some 2.8 seconds.
Guintoli held on to second – his best finish of the season.Third place went to a lonely Castrol Honda’s Jonathan Rea ahead of Aprilia’s Max Biaggi, the 2010 World Champion impressively moving through the pack after starting in 17th and passing Kawasaki’s Joan Lascorz on the final lap. Lascorz ended up fifth.Yamaha’s Marco Melandri was next with Maxime Berger seventh – the Supersonic Ducati rider’s best-ever World Superbike finish. Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes, BMW’s Leon Haslam and Effenbert Liberty Ducati’s Jakub Smrz rounded out the top 10.After earlier announcing his retirement from the sport, Troy Croser rode the second BMW to 14th place.Race 1
1. Carlos Checa (Ducati)
2. Sylvain Guintoli (Ducati)
3. Jonathan Rea (Honda)
4. Max Biaggi (Aprilia)
5. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki)
6. Marco Melandri (Yamaha)
7. Maxime Berger (Ducati)
8. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki)
9. Leon Haslam (BMW)
10. Jakub Smrz (Ducati)
