Magny Cours was definitely Carlos Checa, Althea Racing and Ducati’s best day of the year.
Not only did the Spaniard win his first ever championship title, Althea Racing brought home two titles, one in World Superbikes and one with Davide Giugliano in Superstock, and Ducati brought home the manufacturers title after losing it last year to Aprilia.
And to think that when Ducati pulled out their factory effort at the end of last year, everyone was moaning and complaining and pointing fingers at Valentino Rossi and Gabriele Del Torchio.
I guess Italian Ducati Superbike fans will have to do a few acts of contrition today.
Carlos Checa (1st and 1st)“Today has been a perfect day, the best day of my career and probably the best day of my life.
I thank everyone, every person that has helped me throughout my career, from the beginning up until today, for helping me reach this point.
I especially thank Genesio Bevilacqua, my entire team and Ducati of course.
I am experiencing so many emotions and must admit that it was very difficult to keep my concentration in the final stages of race one.
Then, in race two, I tried to race as fast as I could, doing what I like to do best, and was able to win once more.
Now we can relax and relish in this unforgetable moment.
” Marco Melandri (2nd and 2nd)“I’m pleased with my two podium finishes today.
Race one was very difficult, I was with struggling with the front so we modified the fork a bit before the second race but it didn’t make the difference I had hoped for.
At the beginning I didn’t have a good feeling with the bike but mid-way I was more comfortable and pushed as hard I could.
When I saw Eugene on the small hairpin on the last lap, I knew it was my only chance to get ahead.
My target today was to catch up on the riders ahead and I did my best in both races so I’m happy to come away with two seconds.
”Leon Haslam (3rd and 4th )“I have not been on the podium too many times this year, so we will take every opportunity.
In the early laps of race one I was struggling a little bit, but then everything started to feel better.
It was a good battle all the way with Marco and Eugene for the podium spots.
In race two we had a few issues with the hotter conditions which prevented us from getting another podium finish.
Certainly we are happy with two strong results like we had today, but there is still room for improvement.
Still we all understand the areas where we need to work and we will go away from here and focus on putting everything right in time for Portimao.
”Eugene Laverty (5th and 3rd)“They were two very tough races today.
I was fighting hard for a podium in race one but I was struggling quite a bit with the rear towards the end and it was either crash or settle for fifth and I chose the latter.
In the second race the bike was feeling very strong.
I tried to stay with Carlos and battle for a win but he’s hard to beat this year and then Marco did a great last few laps and managed to overtake me.
It’s great to be back on the podium again and it’s nice to have two Yamahas up here together.
I’m delighted to be in third place in the championship but hopefully Max will be back in Portimao so we can battle for third overall.
”Noriyuki Haga (7th and 10th)”Unfortunately, compared to yesterday, things have changed.
After the first race we decided to set up using the softer tyre but the outcome wasn’t the one we hoped for.
It’s a pity because I really was convinced of getting another great performance like the one in Imola, during the last weekend.
” Joan Lascorz (8th and 7th) “I used the same tyre as in race one but the tyre was used up more in race two.
It made things more difficult for me, the second race more so than the first.
I moved up a bit in the championship and that was good.
Overall this weekend had been less difficult than at some other circuits but the second running was definitely more difficult for me.
Normally they say that the higher the temperature is the better for this tyre choice, but it did not seem like it this time.
”Troy Corser (9th and 9th)“On the whole I am little disappointed.
We have been strong and consistent all weekend, and in all honesty I was hoping for better results.
I have been happy with the bike throughout practice and the setup seemed good for the races, but we really struggled for grip in the latter stages of both races.
Two top-ten finishes on paper is not so bad, but with the pace we have shown we all expected a little bit more.
Still we have some good information to work with going into Portimao in two weeks’ time.
”Tom Sykes (10th and DNF)“We had no grip from lap one of race one, and I was surprised that the lap time was over half a second slower than we had been doing on the same tyre all weekend.
Over race distance it was horrendous.
Even in the sector where I had been strongest all weekend I was about eighth or ninth.
I cannot get downbeat about it and I felt I could have held my own within the top four.
For half a lap in the second race the grip was fantastic.
It put me to where I knew I could perform.
I was happy on that side of things but when I followed Checa into turn 14 I think he decided to brake a bit harder and square the corner off, and I fell without any warning.
Magny Cours is probably my worst circuit on the calendar but we were right in there in almost all the sessions, so that is a positive thing to take away, no question of that.
” Michel Fabrizio (12th and DNF)“Frustrating and disappointing – that’s what the whole weekend has been for me really.
We did manage to improve the bike a bit during this morning’s warm-up, but getting good results starting from the fourth-row-of-the grid was always going to be hard.
The grip was definitely a bit better – thanks to the changes the team made – and I felt more-comfortable than yesterday or Friday.
I didn’t make a particularly-good start and found myself battling with Sykes after the halfway mark.
I could see that he was having some tyre problems and thought I could pass him.
I made my move to pass him going into Chateau D’Eau, but he went in a bit slow and I just clipped his rear end and crashed.
I got back on the bike and carried on, but it was a pretty lonely ride.
I was hoping for better luck in race two, but I didn’t get it.
After two laps, I lost the front at turn seven and down I went.
It happened so quickly I couldn’t do anything about it.
This time, I couldn’t rejoin the race.
I feel frustrated and disappointed.
The last four rounds have not been good for me and that’s a big shame because things had gone reasonably well before then.
My podium in May now seems a long time ago, but the funny thing is that I believe that I can get on the podium again.
But first I have to qualify well in Superpole and give myself a chance.
There is only one round – and two races – remaining and I do not want to end the season continuing this recent run of poor results.
I will do everything I can to do better in Portimao and end the season on an up.
”Ayrton Badovini (DNF and 8th)“The qualifying result definitely penalised me.
We did not achieve what we were capable of.
The fast laptimes show that we could have done much better.
Putting that behind us, the second race was definitely better and I’m happier with that result.
”Jonathan Rea (DNF and DNF)“This is not exactly what we expected after a strong performance in Imola and we were hoping to make up for the disappointment of that second race retirement.
We kind of got halfway there with the pole position yesterday, but raceday was a completely different chapter.
In race one, you know, I can put my hand up and say I got completely out of rhythm after I thought I’d jumped the start.
Actually, when we checked the wheel speeds, it turned out that it wasn’t a jump start – it was just a short movement, but I got swamped in the pack.
I was out of my rhythm then and ended up making a stupid mistake over a kerb.
I was leading race two for a good bit and enjoying myself.
Eugene [Laverty] went past and made a bit of a break but I re-grouped and then realised that Carlos [Checa] was coming.
I thought I’d follow Carlos back up to Eugene and he’d pull us clear, but we had another silly little electrical malfunction.
Of course it’s disappointing for both myself and the team to have two DNFs here but now we’re going to Portimao, which is a track that I really enjoy and we’ve had some success there.
We won’t feel sorry for ourselves because we know we’ve got the pace to run at the front, no matter what the conditions, so we’ll got to Portugal and I’ll do my best as usual.
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