Althea Ducati rider Carlos Checa converted his pole position into a double win at Philip Island today during the 2011 World Superbike Championship season opener. Defending champion Max Biaggi took second place in both races, while Leon Haslam, in his inaugural race on a BMW, grabbed the final podium spot in race one and former MotoGP rider Marco Melandri took third in race two.
WSBK rookie Eugene Laverty led the first contest briefly, but it was all Checa after lap 3, with Biaggi unable to match the Spaniard’s brisk pace and finishing 4.3 seconds back. Haslam put up a great defence for third against Laverty and Melandri. The Yamaha team-mates traded fourth place repeatedly until the finish line when Laverty prevailed. Liberty Ducati’s Sylvain Guintoli crashed hard in race one, incurring injuries to his hand, knee and shoulder blade that left him unable to start race two.
The second heat of the day saw Checa facing stronger opposition from Biaggi, as the two this time finished only just over a second apart. Melandri improved his performance greatly in his second ever World Superbike race to land a podium finish, and Castrol Honda’s Jonathan Rea also improved from his 12th place finish in race one to come in fourth, 10.563 seconds adrift of Checa. Leon Haslam rounded out the top five to collect a total of 27 championship points, tying him with Melandri for third in the standings, while Checa’s double victory gives him a 10-point over Biaggi in the series.
The next round takes place at Donington Park in the UK, March 27.
2011 WSBK Phillip Island – Race 1 results
1. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1098R 34mins 16.503s
2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +4.365s
3. Leon Haslam GBR BMW Motorrad S1000RR +10.719s
4. Eugene Laverty IRL Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 +11.266s
5. Marco Melandri ITA Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 +11.293s
6. Michel Fabrizio ITA Suzuki Alstare GSX-R1000 +12.039s
7. Jakub Smrz CZE Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R +20.294s
8. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki RTS ZX-10R +20.742s
9. Noriyuki Haga JPN PATA Aprilia RSV-4 +22.421s
10. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +25.822s
11. Roberto Rolfo ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +29.270s
12. Jonathan Rea GBR Castrol Honda CBR1000RR +31.059s
13. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +31.721s
14. Ayrton Badovini ITA BMW Italia S1000RR +36.389s
15. Bryan Staring AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +36.470s
16. Ruben Xaus ESP Castrol Honda CBR1000RR +41.928s
17. James Toseland GBR BMW Italia S1000RR +55.239s
18. Josh Waters AUS Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 +1min 00.312s
19. Mark Aitchison AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 00.316s
20. Maxime Berger FRA Supersonic Ducati 1098R +1min 30.125s
Not Classified
21. Joan Lascorz ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 13 laps completed
22. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R 6 laps completed
2011 WSBK Phillip Island – Race 2 results
1. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1098R 34mins 15.041s
2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +1.188s
3. Marco Melandri ITA Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 +1.406s
4. Jonathan Rea GBR Castrol Honda CBR1000RR +10.563s
5. Leon Haslam GBR BMW Motorrad S1000RR +10.885s
6. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +16.914s
7. Noriyuki Haga JPN PATA Aprilia RSV-4 +17.558s
8. Michel Fabrizio ITA Suzuki Alstare GSX-R1000 +17.679s
9. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki RTS ZX-10R +18.070s
10. Ruben Xaus ESP Castrol Honda CBR1000RR +19.053s
11. Jakub Smrz CZE Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R +19.060s
12. Roberto Rolfo ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +23.771s
13. Josh Waters AUS Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 +23.956s
14. James Toseland GBR BMW Italia S1000RR +28.713s
15. Eugene Laverty IRL Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 +32.673s
16. Mark Aitchison AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +33.226s
17. Bryan Staring AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +42.598s
18. Maxime Berger FRA Supersonic Ducati 1098R +51.819s
19. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +55.738s
Not Classified
20. Joan Lascorz ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 14 laps completed
21. Ayrton Badovini ITA BMW Italia S1000RR 0 laps completed
Did Not Start
Sylvain Guintoli FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R
2011 World Superbike Championship Standings
1 Carlos Checa Althea Ducati 50
2 Max Biaggi Aprilia Alitalia Racing 40
3 Leon Haslam BMW Motorrad Motorsport 27
= Marco Melandri Yamaha WSBK 27
5 Michel Fabrizio Team Suzuki Alstare 18
6 Jonathan Rea Castrol Honda 17
7 Noriyuki Haga PATA Aprilia Racing Team 16
8 Tom Skyes Kawasaki Racing Team 15
9 Jakub Smr? Effenbert Liberty Ducati 14
= Eugene Laverty Yamaha WSBK 14
11 Leon Camier Aprilia Alitalia Racing 13
12 Roberto Rolfo Team Pedercini Kawasaki 9
13 Troy Corser BMW Motorrad Motorsport 6
= Rubén Xaus Castrol Honda 6
15 Josh Waters Yoshimura Suzuki 3
16 James Toseland BMW Italia 2
= Ayrton Badovini BMW Italia 2
18 Bryan Staring Team Pedercini Kawasaki 1
19 Mark Aitchison Team Pedercini Kawasaki 0
= Maxime Berger Supersonic Ducati 0
= Sylvain Guintoli Effenbert Liberty Ducati 0
= Chris VermeulenKawasaki Racing Team 0
= Joan Lascorz Kawasaki Racing Team 0
