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04/27/2008 - 03:29 PM
Assen, Netherlands
HANNspree Ten Kate Honda's Carlos Checa (Photo: Honda Pro Images) ยป More Photos
CHECA SECOND AND THIRD AFTER STRONG ASSEN RACES
Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) took second and third place finishes at Assen today to become Troy Bayliss’ closest challenger in the overall championship fight. Bayliss won both races at Assen and is now on a total of 178 points, with Checa on 108.
The 35-year-old Spaniard was top Honda qualifier in sixth place after Superpole, and the first Honda race finisher in race one, taking second place. In the first 22-lap race Checa rode patiently behind Max Neukirchner before passing in the latter stages and taking his second runner-up position of the season. He was unable to get past Neukirchner early enough to match the late push that saw Bayliss lead by three seconds at one stage, but he still finished only 2.1 seconds from his first World Superbike win.
Ryuichi Kiyonari (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR100RR) earned a seventh place finish in race one, after qualifying 13th in Superpole, riding on his own for the last part of the race, eventually finishing three seconds down on Jakub Smrz and three seconds up on Makoto Tamada. Privateer Gregorio Lavilla (Vent Axia VK Honda CBR1000RR) made a strong push throughout the race to go from 15th on the grid to an eventual ninth place finish.
Qualifying struggler Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Althea Ten Kate Honda Jr CBR1000RR) was an impressive 12th after lining up only 21st on the grid. Karl Muggeridge (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) was the last Honda points scorer in race one, in 14th place. He went on to go one better in race two, ending up one place ahead of Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR) who had earlier finished race one two laps down, after experiencing severe vibration that caused him to pit for some time.
In race two Checa slowly worked his way up from seventh to snatch third place from Ruben Xaus at the last corner. This time he was six seconds from his first WSB race win. A brilliant ride from Lavilla placed him seventh, equaling his season best and pushing him into the overall top ten. He is now ninth, on 48 points. Kiyonari failed to finish race two with a technical problem and left Assen with 39 points in total, putting him 12th overall.
In the championship rankings, after eight points scoring races, Sofuoglu is 16th on 26 points, Muggeridge 17th on 25, Rolfo 19th on 20 and Russell Holland (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) 20th, on 10 points. Holland finished his raceday 18th and 21st, after qualifying 24th.
Alto Evolution Honda CBR100RR Team riders Shuhei Aoyama and Luca Morelli had tough racedays again and have still to score points. Morelli retired twice while Aoyama took 19th place in race one and 21st in race two.
Kiyonari said: “The clamp of my steering damper broke and I was unable to continue in the second race. I don’t know why it happened, but its just very unfortunate having to end the race prematurely. With my riding style I’m still using the front tire too much and wear it out quickly; it makes it difficult for me to keep my lap times low. I changed the front tire for the second race, it felt better and I tried to push harder and even set one of the quickest lap times, but then had to retire early. I’m happy about the fast lap times I managed to set in race two, it gives me confidence on this new track for me.”
Rolfo said: “Race one was really very difficult for us. A few laps after the start I felt a lot of chatter coming from the rear wheel and it started shifting to the front wheel. The problem only got worse as the race continued. I went back to the box to change the tires, but the race was nearly finished. Before the second race my technicians worked on the rear suspension and during the first ten laps of the race the bike performed very well. I was able to ride the bike better. For sure we’ll be more competitive in the next race.”
Sofuoglu said: “What a disappointing weekend. My first race was acceptable, but my second race was just disappointing. I was expecting to achieve a lot more on this track, but I didn’t manage to succeed. There is no problem with the bike; everything seems to be fine. I just don’t have an answer as to why I am riding like this.”
Lavilla said: “We don’t know this track as a team so until Saturday afternoon we were still changing the transmission and so on. Race two was good and the bike was pretty much the same as race one, but maybe the rear tire worked a bit better in the higher temperatures. I saw that many riders were fast in the beginning but I was able to keep my pace even when the bike started sliding a lot.”
Muggeridge said: “We had the wrong tire on the front in the first race and it was not good, so we changed the fork setting and the tire and it was a lot better. It is hard here when you qualify 19th and start so far back, because the first part of this track is really tight and hard to pass on.”
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