Checa captures Nurburgring World Superbike Superpole with record lap
Spain's Carlos Checa took Superpole for Althea Ducati in Germany on Saturday.
Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) set a new Nürburgring best lap of 1:54.144 seconds early in the final Tissot-Superpole session to claim his fifth top starting position this year.
Behind, Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team), Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) and Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) completed the front row, with Biaggi particularly impressive as he was riding with an broken bone in his injured left foot.
“It is a great day. I think we were able to interpret the bike well and from yesterday we made some changes and the result is the way it is,” Checa said.
“Even from the first qualifying to the second one we made one step in front. I am quite satisfied and I think we have brought the bike and the tyres to a great limit. Not perfect, because that is always difficult to say that it is perfect, but close.”
Proven winner at this track Noriyuki Haga (Pata Racing Aprilia) was fifth while Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike) once more showed good pre-race pace to claim sixth place on the grid.
Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) squeezed out Sylvain Guintoli (Effenbert Liberty Racing Ducati) for seventh.
Comeback rider Jonathan Rea scored ninth in Superpole on his Castrol Honda, just missing the final session but heading up row three of the grid.
Mark Aitchison (Pedercini Team Kawasaki) secured a start in Superpole two and posted 11th place, one behind Effenbert Liberty Racing Ducati rider Jakub Smrz.
The final rider after Superpole two was Michel Fabrizio (Suzuki Alstare), in 12th. Leon Camier, Biaggi’s teammate, fought his way to 13th, one place up on Ducati privateer Maxime Berger (Supersonic Racing Team).
Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK) and Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team) rounded out the top 16 riders who made it into Tissot-Superpole.
Just under a tenth of a second separated points leader Chaz Davies (Yamaha ParkinGO) from poleman Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) who will start from the front slot for the second time this season.
The Frenchman set a time of 1:59.298 seconds, which was more than one second slower than Cal Crutchlow’s 2010 best lap.
The front row is completed by two fellow Brits Gino Rea (Step Racing Team Honda) and Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda).
Row two contains two Italians, with Massimo Roccoli (Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki) ahead of Luca Scassa (Yamaha ParkinGO), together with James Ellison (Bodganka PTR Honda) and David Salom (Kawasaki Motocard.com).
The win in the seventh round of the European Superstock 600 Championship went to Dutchman Michael Van der Mark (Ten Kate Junior Team Honda) who became the first rider this year to double up at the top.
Australian Jed Metcher finished second for the MTM-RT Motorsports Yamaha team and teammate Gauthier Duwelz of Belgium third.
Metcher now moves into the lead of the championship with 101 points, while Romain Lanusse (MRS Yamaha Racing France), who retired, stays on the 94 mark.
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