Assen (The Netherlands), Sunday 22nd April 2012: Team Althea Racing and its riders Davide Giugliano and Carlos Checa took a great result in very difficult conditions in today’s first Superbike race at the Dutch TT circuit of Assen; the riders crossed the line in second and third position respectively. The second race was more difficult for Checa, who closed seventeenth, while Giugliano finished ninth.
Race 1 got underway in dry conditions and both Carlos and Davide made a good start, with Carlos fourth at the end of the first lap and Davide twelfth, having started from nineteenth place on the grid. After twelve laps and a number of crashes, a red flag stopped the race. A restart was required as the riders had only completed 12 of the planned 22 laps. In the second race, Carlos once again started from fifth while Giugliano got away from the tenth spot on the grid thanks to the work he’d done during the first ‘heat’. This time both Althea men had to face pouring rain and a cold wind. At the end of the first (of nine) laps, Checa was third, followed by Giugliano in fourth. Carlos then passed Badovini, taking command of the race when Haslam, ahead of him, crashed. In the final phase Carlos lost a little ground but, not wanting to take unnecessary risks, was satisfied with final third place. Davide meanwhile battled it out first with Laverty and then with Biaggi, projecting himself up into second position, a position that he held until the line to take his first ever Superbike podium, just behind race winner Guintoli and ahead of team-mate Checa.
Race 2 was declared ‘wet’ due to a damp track. Carlos decided to go out on a rain tyre, believing that it might come on to rain soon after but unfortunately it proved to be the wrong decision, and meant that he had to return to the garage after one lap to change the tyre. Carlos returned to the track in last position. Davide made a good start and lay in fourteenth place at the end of the first lap. He then passed first Hopkins and then Biaggi, moving up to eighth by mid-race. In the final stages the young Althea rider battled it out with both Biaggi and Badovini and closed the race in final ninth place, gaining another six championship points. Carlos was unfortunately unable to catch those ahead of him, despite a very fast pace (he recorded the fastest lap of the race – 1m38.092 - on the sixteenth lap); he closed race 2 in seventeenth position.
After three rounds, Carlos lies in second position in the general standings with 91 points, one point behind leader Biaggi. Thanks to today’s results Giugliano moves up from seventeenth to tenth position with 37 points. Ducati continues to lead the manufacturer’s championship with 136 points to Aprilia’s 100.
Carlos Checa:
“I’m more than satisfied with the result in Race 1, because conditions were already tricky in the first phase, let alone in the second! After the restart, there was little traction, little grip, and when I saw some of the others go down, I decided it was better to finish the race than risk a fall. Considering the conditions, probably one of the worst SBK races I’ve ever ridden, we’re happy with third place. Congratulations to Davide too who made a great race – he deserved the result. In race 2 I made a mistake and take full responsibility for it. I chose to go out on a rain tyre as I though rain would come but I was wrong. I’m sorry I didn’t come straight back in to change it during the warm-up lap as, that way, I would have probably been able to close in the top ten but instead I waited and by then it was too late to be able to catch up. We turn the page and look ahead.”
I love that Ducati Corse is getting "Open" minded. To me this approach seems quite a new direction that would not have been likely in the past.