The maestro of all things in Utah, especially Miller Motorsports Park, Carlos Checa dominated both races yesterday and took his sixth World Superbike race of the season and leaving the rest of the field to fight over leftovers.
Here are several rider quotes and video highlights from both races for you to check out.
Carlos Checa (1st and 1st)“Two amazing wins today, especially after what happened to us here last year.
In Race 1 I rode cautiously during the first laps as the conditions were a little mixed but after a while I found good feeling with my bike and was really able to push.
The bike really behaved well despite the slightly strange conditions.
I was able to pass those ahead of me, though it wasn’t easy, and then I tried hard to build an advantage.
In the final stages I stayed calm, controlled the margin and I did it! It was really funny because as I was returning to parc ferme’, I saw some fans who wanted to give me a flag so I went “offroad” to get it only to find thick mud which caused me to crash – the happiest crash of my life I would say! The feeling that I had with the bike improved for race 2 and I could really enjoy the race.
A wonderful day, especially for my team and for Ducati.
I want to thank everybody, my team, Ducati and the sponsors.
This was not only a double victory but a moral victory.
” Leon Camier (4th and 2nd)“That’s what we needed! A weekend that ends on the right note! I was quick in race one and I would surely have battled for a rostrum.
It’s too bad that a problem engaging the gears made me lose some precious seconds, and I had to settle for fourth place.
In race two I got off to a good start, behind Checa straight away, and I kept up a good pace although it was impossible to catch him up.
I have to thank the guys on the team and Aprilia, they also deserve credit for these results.
Now we need to look forward.
The goal is to keep going in this direction.
” Jakub Smrz (2nd and 8th)“I am extremely satisfied today, the team did a great job providing me withan excellent bike that allowed me to reach the second podium of the season, sadly in race two I had problems with the rear wheel and I could not push as I wanted.
We will carefully analyze the reasons of this problem but the results remain very positive.
Now we go to Misano, a circuit that I like very much and where I already managed a first placement in Superpole and where I am planning to improve even more.
”Sylvain Guintoli (3rd and 7th)“I am delighted to have achieved the first podium of my career in Superbikes, I am very happy to have achieved it with this bike and with this team, I could have achieved it even before if I didn ‘t suffer that big crash in Australia that has influenced my results for some races .
Now my physical condition is almost optimal and the results could be seen immediately.
I thank everyone for their excellent work, I am sorry for not being able to be faster in Race 2, but as also happened to Jakub, the rear tire gave me the feeling of having less grip.
I expect interesting performances for the forthcoming races, starting already from Misano, a circuit which definitely suites our bike.
”Max Biaggi (DNF and 3rd)“It’s a real shame about the first race, unfortunately Rea touched me and I couldn’t avoid the crash.
I have a few bruises that are bothering me, so now we’ll have to take a good look at things and hopefully there is nothing serious.
In the second race I started off well, but in the first turn I wasn’t very aggressive.
The others slipped by me and I had to make up some ground to get into third place.
My compliments to Checa, who is truly unbeatable here, but I think we showed our presence as well.
At Misano I’m sure we’ll be able to express our potential.
The championship is certainly far from over.
”Eugene Laverty (5th and 4th)“I managed to get a great start off the line in both races and maintain my starting position into the first curve.
In race one I made a mistake changing the gears which caused me to drop back to 15th.
I climbed up to second by mid race but then I began to suffer from extreme tyre wear.
We improved the chassis setting before race two and I was a lot more cautious with the tyre.
I was sitting in third place from early on but I didn’t want to push too hard in on Max to ensure the tyres would last to the end.
I’m quite happy having finished fifth and fourth in the two races and I’m now fourth in the standings, which I’m pleased with.
”Tom Sykes (6th and 10th) “Sixth in race one was a positive result, a real improvement on last year’s efforts here.
We were strong at the end of the race and set my best lap time three laps from the end, so that has certainly broken the mould.
We came through from the third row and a bad start and got into the top six.
In the second race we did not make any real set-up changes as we were keen not to do anything too drastic this weekend.
Overall I had a lot better launch in race two but there were guys battling to the right of me, then Camier made a good strong move and unfortunately I got boxed in on turn one.
The whole race was faster than race one but unfortunately I ended up in a bit of a dice with Jonathan Rea and that allowed Ayrton Badovini to catch and pass me.
I am confident we can go away and make more progress and I really want to thank all the team and Kawasaki.
We worked together even tighter as a team and that showed through the weekend.
”Ayrton Badovini (7th and 9th) “I am happy, more with race 2 than race 1.
I was put to the test physically and I must say that I responded well.
I am satisfied with the race pace and I can say that we have grown from the very beginning of the season.
The guys were terrific throughout the weekend.
The only thing I still miss is a good race start so now we will work hard on that.
”Leon Haslam (8th and 13th)“This was a race weekend to forget.
We have identified some issues, and we have to solve these.
I am confident that the entire team will work hard to bring us further up the ranks soon.
We need to go away from here and regroup if we want to be strong for the next races.
We must now look to move the bike forward.
”Marco Melandri (10th and 6th)“It was a very difficult day all round.
In race one I got off to a good start but I touched Haga at the beginning and let several riders fly by.
After a few laps I hit the kerb-stone with the engine cover and the bike leaked a bit of oil on the gearshifter so I had difficulty preventing my foot from slipping.
Mid race I also had a problem with the front tyre which seemed to move and it wasn’t easy to keep the bike stable.
Race two was another difficult race, the worst for me this year.
I couldn’t perform and prove my potential at any stage.
I had set up issues from the very beginning especially on entering curves.
I did my best to find a consistent race pace but it was impossible.
This isn’t the type of race I should be doing as this way you don’t win championships.
”Noriyuki Haga (9th and DNF)“Unfortunately during race 1 we paid the lack of practice when saturday we couldn’t try out the dry track setting.
It’s a pity because the bike was going great untilmid race and I was sure to be able to hit the first three positions.
During race 2 we opted for a more preservative setting but I slipped while I was fighting for the podium.
”Maxime Berger (11th and 14th)“If somebody told me after the qualifying from yesterday that I will get my best seasonal performance, I would not have believed.
But on the dry track I found a very good feeling with my Ducati.
After starting fast enough, I maintained a very high pace throughout the race.
I managed to overtake many positions up to eleventh place finish.
In the second race, while constantly turning good times, I could not do better than the fourteenth place.
Now, we return to Europe with seven extra points and with the knowledge that we still have a good for improvement.
I want to thank my team here at Miller, they did a great job, I do all I can for the guys in my team at the next round at Misano, which is their home race.
”Troy Corser (13th and DNF)“We are disappointed with the way the weekend has ended.
I felt like we had a good set-up for both the wet and dry conditions, and I was really confident going into the races today.
In race one I got away well and led the early laps.
The bike felt good for the first five to six laps then the grip from the rear tyre became a real issue.
I don’t know why it happened, we need to have a look at the data and see.
Race two I decided to take it a bit easier in the early laps to save the tyres but I began to lose too many positions.
So I then started to push and clipped the curb with my engine casing and lost the front – crashing out of the race.
On the whole it was a difficult weekend and one we need to analyse in more detail.
”Joan Lascorz (14th and 12th)“I think I just needed to understand the bike a bit better to make the most of its potential.
The second race set-up was better.
I used the same rear tyre in each race but different front tyres to make different settings and race two was much better.
In the first race we destroyed the rear tyre and in the middle of the race my laps were in the 1’55s.
In race two they were in the 1’50s – five seconds per lap faster! I think if it had all went well and if I had a good grid position and made good starts we could have been inside the middle of the top ten, maybe.
”James Toseland (15th and DNS)“I wanted to win the point for the team to thank them for what they are doing.
I am improving day by day, but my hand still hurts and I elected not to ride in race 2.
I think I’m going to be okay for Aragon or, at worst for Brno.
I want to congratulate the team who did a great job and I am very pleased for the two top ten results ”Jonathan Rea (DNF and 11th)Frustrating is a word we’ve been using a lot this weekend but it’s a bit too generalised really.
We just haven’t had a package that we could compete with this weekend and it was all I could do to finish where I did in race two.
Obviously, the day wasn’t helped by not coming home with 21 laps of data from race one.
On the first lap of that one, I was the victim of a very intimidating attempt at a pass that went wrong and we both fell down.
As much as I’m disappointed with the way things have gone this weekend, I really feel for the guys in the team who have worked so hard to get things working.
We just haven’t been able to find the sweet spot for the bike at this track and scoring four points from the weekend is just not good enough.
We can’t walk away from here with our heads held high and the only consolation is that I’m not going home wrapped up like a mummy like I did last year.
Although everyone else has tested there, I hope we can start the weekend at Misano relatively close because I have some good memories from there two years ago, like I have from Miller.
But not this weekend.
Ruben Xaus (DNF and 18th)“I had a good start in both races and the bike felt much better than yesterday.
I felt confident enough to make some passes on the brakes but we used the clutch from yesterday which was more free and OK in the rain.
It got rid of a bit of chatter, but without so much engine braking in the dry there was nothing I could do to avoid coming into contact with Michel Fabrizio in race one.
The team made some good changes and I was feeling good, but then in race two I just touched the rumble strip with the engine in the second part of the chicane and that was it.
From 12.
00 onwards today, we’ve had some bad luck but at least I was able to get the bike going again in race two and the lap times weren’t so bad.
Almost two DNFs is not good but sometimes racing goes that way and we have to look forward and be positive.
We have made some progress here so I look forward to taking that to Misano in a couple of weeks.
”Roberto Rolfo (17th and 16th)“Not a good day today.
In race one I was forced to re-enter the box to change a faulty rear tyre.
I rejoined the race just to test my bike so as to be ready for the second race.
Race two started well but I had to push really hard trying to reach the group of riders in front of me.
Unfortunately after only a few laps my fuel tank was leaking fuel and I lost my rhythm.
We still haven’t found the right settings for me and we just need to work hard on this.
I want to thank all my technicians for their great work here at Miller and I hope to achieve better results starting from the very next home race in Misano”.
Mark Aitchison (16th and 17th)“Today seemed to be quite a difficult day for us.
We were fortunate enough to get some dry weather during both our races, but overall we had major problems with rear tyre degredation in both races.
In the first race after around six laps, our rear tyre performance dropped quite considerably and as a result my lap times were not so fast and I closed in 16th place.
During the second race I managed to get a good start and battle with a few of the others riders in the beginning which I enjoyed, but again after around 10-12 laps my level of rear grip dropped quickly and I could not maintain the same lap times, finishing 17th.
In any case I believe we have had a good weekend, we are learning more about the bike all the time and I really believe once we resolve a few small issues regarding tyre wear and improve the bike’s balance a little, we can be a lot more competitive in future races.
I would like to thank my team for all their hard work throughout this weekend”.