Carlos Checa rounded off a perfect weekend at Phillip Island with victory in both races to take home a maximum of 50 points and the World championship lead.
After dominating during practise and qualifying it was hardly a surprise to see Carlos Checa continue in the same vein in both races of the opening round of the 2011 World Superbike season at Phillip Island in Australia.
What might have been surprising is that despite closing the gap on the Althea Ducati during qualifying, none of the other teams could get close to the Spaniard on the track, leaving Checa to romp away and build up a significant lead in both races.
2010 World Superbike Champion Max Biaggi was best of the rest, securing the second podium place in both races while most of the action on the track was taking place in the jostle for the final podium spot, with Leon Haslam and Marco Melandri claiming the place respectively over the two races.
Eugene Lavertywho finished fourth in race one had led the race from the start, but first Checa and then Biaggi squeezed past him within a few laps.Leon Haslam fought it out with both Laverty and Melandrifor a grandstand finish for third place on the final straight with Haslam claiming the spoils.
Haslam was in particularly good spirits after race one, suggesting that the BMW may yet be the surprise package in race two.
It appeared that the Pocket Rocket may have been right when he blasted the BMW into the front on race two, but it was all too brief and Haslam soon encountered some sort of problem with the bike allowing the front runners to pass.
It was then pretty much a repeat of race one, Checa way out in front and this time Biaggi fighting for second place with Melandri and Haslam behind in a battle with Jonathan Rea.
As Checa slowed to a cruise for the final couple of laps the battles behind closed in on the leader, but he was always in control, showboating his way to the second victory of the day.
Biaggi held of Melandri for second and third, but Haslam was caught and passed on the final straight by a determined Rea to wrap up the top five.
Carlos Checa leads the 2011 World Superbike Championship with a maximum 50 points from Australia, Biaggi sitting pretty with 40 points in the bank.
2011 WSB Round One: Phillip Island, Australia: Results:
Race One
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
Race Two
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
Source: Worldsuperbikenews.co.uk
Pic: zimbio.com
