Carlos Checa

Carlos Checa Carrera (born 15 October 1972) is a Spanish former professional motorcycle road racer and winner of the 2011 Superbike World Championship. After racing in 500 cc and MotoGP for over a decade, mostly on Honda and Yamaha machinery with and without full manufacturer support, he moved to the Superbike World Championship on a Honda for 2008. He has two Grand Prix victories.[1] He has a younger brother, David Checa, also a motorcycle racer who competed in the Superbike World Championship for 2008.

Carlos Checa
Checa during the Silverstone round of the 2012 Superbike World Championship
Nationality	Spanish
Born	15 October 1972 Barcelona, Spain
Website	carloscheca.com Twitter's profile
Motorcycle racing career statistics MotoGP World Championship Active years 1995–2007, 2010 Manufacturers Honda, Ducati, Yamaha Championships 0 2010 championship position 21st (1 pt) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 194 2 24 3 5 1485 250cc World Championship Active years 1993–1995 Manufacturers Honda Championships 0 1995 championship position 13th (45 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 27 0 0 0 0 108 125cc World Championship Active years 1993 Manufacturers Honda Championships 0 1993 championship position 27th (9 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 1 0 0 0 0 9 Superbike World Championship Active years 2008–2013 Manufacturers Honda, Ducati Championships 1 (2011) 2013 championship position 15th (80 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 150 24 49 10 30 1691.5

Career

125cc, 250cc, 500cc & MotoGP World Championship

Born in Barcelona, Spain, Checa made his debut in 125cc and 250cc motorcycle racing in 1993 for Honda. In 1995, he moved up to the Blue Riband 500cc class as a replacement for Alberto Puig, a fellow Spaniard who broke both his legs in a horrifying crash in France. Checa shocked the paddock by being on the pace and nearly winning the Barcelona race.

He continued with the team until 1998, the year he suffered near fatal injuries with a crash at Donington Park's Craner Curves and was initially thought to have suffered only scrapes and bruises before complaining of pain. Hours later he had lost his vision,[2] needed emergency surgery to remove his spleen and was listed in critical condition. He fought back to ride that year, missing just one race, before racing for Yamaha as Max Biaggi's teammate on two-strokes and four-strokes. He nearly won many races but had a habit of crashing after taking the lead. One such race was at Rio de Janeiro in 2002 when he stalled on the starting line, then rode through the field to take the lead only to crash a corner later.

Checa continued racing with the factory Yamaha team for the 2003 and 2004 seasons, before he moved to Marlboro Ducati in 2005. In 2006 he returned to the Tech 3 Yamaha team, proving much steadier than in previous years and comfortably beating teammate James Ellison, but was not much a threat to the rest of the field, as they were on Dunlop tyres. He struggled as the sole LCR Honda rider in 2007, with the 800cc Honda proving uncompetitive for many riders. At the Sachsenring Checa got an updated frame, which other non-works Honda riders had found uncompetitive – this is believed to be due to Checa using the same Michelin tyres as the works team, the other Hondas being on Bridgestones.

Checa returned to the series in 2010, as replacement for Mika Kallio for the last two races of the season.[3]

Superbike World Championship

For the 2008 season, Checa left MotoGP to join the Ten Kate Honda team in the Superbike World Championship as a replacement for 2007 champion James Toseland.[4] At Valencia he challenged Max Neukirchner for the win at the final corner, resulting in a collision which broke Neukirchner's collarbone. Checa's first two wins – following four podium finishes – both came in the meeting at Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City on 1 June 2008. He did not reach the podium again, but consistent results elsewhere allowed him to finish fifth in the championship. He also won the Suzuka 8 Hours with teammate Ryuichi Kiyonari.[5]

In 2009, Checa struggled to compete for much of the season, securing just four podium finishes and finishing seventh in the riders' standings, 32 points behind satellite Honda rider Leon Haslam. During the 2009 season, Ten Kate Honda announced that they would be downsizing their operation from three riders to just two.[6] Both Checa and Ryuichi Kiyonari were released, with Jonathan Rea retained[7] and Max Neukirchner joining the team from Suzuki.[8]

In November 2009, Checa was confirmed as a rider at the Althea Ducati team, where he would race alongside Shane Byrne.[9] He scored Althea's first win at the season opening meeting at Phillip Island, and was on course for victories in both races at Miller Motorsports Park in the United States before suffering mystery mechanical failures in both races.[10] Checa went on to win the Italian round at Imola and finished the season in third place in the 2010 championship.[11]

Checa dominated the opening round of the 2011 season, winning both races comfortably at Phillip Island on his Ducati 1098R.[12] He won thirteen more times and was crowned the 2011 World Superbike Champion at the penultimate round at the Magny-Cours circuit in France, becoming the first Spaniard and only the third European rider from outside of the United Kingdom after Raymond Roche and Max Biaggi to have done so.[11]

Career statistics

By season

Season	Class	Motorcycle	Team	Number	Race	Win	Podium	Pole	FLap	Pts	Plcd	WCh
1993	125cc	Honda RS125R	M.C Manresa - Petrocat	63	1	0	0	0	0	9	27th	–
	250cc	Honda RS250R	Daytona - Pit Lane	38	6	0	0	0	0	9	23rd	–
1994	250cc	Honda RS250R	Givi Racing	23	14	0	0	0	0	54	12th	–
1995	250cc	Honda NSR250	Fortuna Honda Pons	12	7	0	0	0	0	45	13th	–
	500cc	Honda NSR500	Fortuna Honda Pons	12	5	0	0	0	1	26	16th	–
1996	500cc	Honda NSR500	Fortuna Honda Pons	24	14	1	3	0	1	124	8th	–
1997	500cc	Honda NSR500	MoviStar Honda Pons	8	15	0	3	0	1	119	8th	–
1998	500cc	Honda NSR500	MoviStar Honda Pons	8	11	1	3	1	1	139	4th	–
1999	500cc	Yamaha YZR500	Marlboro Yamaha Team	4	16	0	1	0	0	125	7th	–
2000	500cc	Yamaha YZR500	Marlboro Yamaha Team	7	16	0	4	0	0	155	6th	–
2001	500cc	Yamaha YZR500	Marlboro Yamaha Team	7	15	0	3	0	0	137	6th	–
2002	MotoGP	Yamaha YZR-M1	Marlboro Yamaha Team	7	16	0	4	1	1	141	5th	–
2003	MotoGP	Yamaha YZR-M1	Fortuna Yamaha Team	7	16	0	0	0	0	123	7th	–
2004	MotoGP	Yamaha YZR-M1	Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha	7	16	0	1	1	0	117	7th	–
2005	MotoGP	Ducati GP5	Ducati Marlboro Team	7	17	0	2	0	0	138	9th	–
2006	MotoGP	Yamaha YZR-M1	Tech 3 Yamaha	7	17	0	0	0	0	75	15th	–
2007	MotoGP	Honda RC212V	Honda LCR	7	18	0	0	0	0	65	14th	–
2010	MotoGP	Ducati GP10	Pramac Racing Team	71	2	0	0	0	0	1	21st	–
Total					222	2	24	3	5	1602		0

By class

Class	Seasons	1st GP	1st Pod	1st Win	Race	Win	Podiums	Pole	FLap	Pts	WChmp
125cc	1993	1993 Europe			1	0	0	0	0	9	0
250cc	1993–1995	1993 San Marino			27	0	0	0	0	108	0
500cc	1995–2001	1995 Britain	1996 Malaysia	1996 Catalunya	92	2	17	1	4	825	0
MotoGP	2002–2007, 2010	2002 Japan	2002 Japan		102	0	7	2	1	660	0
Total	1993–2007, 2010				222	2	24	3	5	1602	0

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Class	Bike	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Pos	Pts
1993	125cc	Honda	AUS	MAL	JPN	SPA	AUT	GER	NED	EUR 7											27th	9
	250cc	Honda									RSM 21	GBR 25	CZE Ret	ITA 20	USA 14	FIM 9					23rd	9
1994	250cc	Honda	AUS 14	MAL 11	JPN Ret	SPA 11	AUT Ret	GER 14	NED 11	ITA 10	FRA 13	GBR 12	CZE Ret	USA 7	ARG 10	EUR 10					12th	54
1995	250cc	Honda	AUS 4	MAL DNS	JPN Ret	SPA Ret	GER 7	ITA 11	NED 11	FRA 4											13th	45
	500cc	Honda									GBR Ret	CZE 8	BRA 7	ARG 7	EUR Ret						16th	26
1996	500cc	Honda	MAL 3	INA 5	JPN 10	SPA 10	ITA DNS	FRA Ret	NED 11	GER Ret	GBR 12	AUT 7	CZE 8	IMO 11	CAT 1	BRA 4	AUS 3				8th	124
1997	500cc	Honda	MAL 6	JPN 6	SPA Ret	ITA Ret	AUT 6	FRA 2	NED 2	IMO 4	GER Ret	BRA Ret	GBR Ret	CZE Ret	CAT 2	INA 6	AUS 10				8th	119
1998	500cc	Honda	JPN 8	MAL 2	SPA 4	ITA 4	FRA 3	MAD 1	NED 5	GBR DNS	GER	CZE 7	IMO 10	CAT 6	AUS DNS	ARG 8					4th	139
1999	500cc	Yamaha	MAL 2	JPN 6	SPA 10	FRA 5	ITA 7	CAT 7	NED Ret	GBR Ret	GER 4	CZE Ret	IMO Ret	VAL 5	AUS 4	RSA 6	BRA Ret	ARG 4			7th	125
2000	500cc	Yamaha	RSA 2	MAL 2	JPN 5	SPA 2	FRA 7	ITA 2	CAT Ret	NED 5	GBR 11	GER 9	CZE 11	POR 12	VAL 7	BRA 15	PAC 4	AUS Ret			6th	155
2001	500cc	Yamaha	JPN 10	RSA	SPA 14	FRA 2	ITA Ret	CAT 8	NED Ret	GBR 5	GER 2	CZE 7	POR 4	VAL 4	PAC 7	AUS 16	MAL 10	BRA 2			6th	137
2002	MotoGP	Yamaha	JPN 3	RSA 5	SPA Ret	FRA Ret	ITA 4	CAT 3	NED 3	GBR Ret	GER 4	CZE 5	POR 2	BRA Ret	PAC 5	MAL 7	AUS 11	VAL Ret			5th	141
2003	MotoGP	Yamaha	JPN 10	RSA 9	SPA Ret	FRA Ret	ITA 8	CAT 4	NED 4	GBR 6	GER 8	CZE 4	POR 8	BRA 9	PAC Ret	MAL 5	AUS 8	VAL 5			7th	123
2004	MotoGP	Yamaha	RSA 10	SPA 6	FRA 2	ITA Ret	CAT 4	NED 9	BRA 10	GER Ret	GBR 6	CZE 6	POR 5	JPN 7	QAT Ret	MAL 9	AUS 10	VAL 14			7th	117
2005	MotoGP	Ducati	SPA 10	POR 5	CHN Ret	FRA Ret	ITA 5	CAT 11	NED 9	USA Ret	GBR 5	GER Ret	CZE 8	JPN 4	MAL 3	QAT 6	AUS 3	TUR 5	VAL 4		9th	138
2006	MotoGP	Yamaha	SPA 13	QAT 12	TUR 15	CHN 14	FRA 11	ITA 15	CAT 8	NED 9	GBR 10	GER 9	USA 7	CZE 15	MAL 12	AUS Ret	JPN 14	POR 7	VAL 10		15th	75
2007	MotoGP	Honda	QAT Ret	SPA 6	TUR 12	CHN 10	FRA Ret	ITA Ret	CAT 17	GBR Ret	NED 11	GER 14	USA 14	CZE 10	RSM 6	POR 7	JPN 18	AUS 11	MAL 14	VAL 12	14th	65
2010	MotoGP	Ducati	QAT	SPA	FRA	ITA	GBR	NED	CAT	GER	USA	CZE	IND	SMR	ARA	JPN	MAL	AUS	POR Ret	VAL 15	21st	1

By season

Season	Motorcycle	Team	Race	Win	Podium	Pole	FLap	Pts	Plcd	WCh
2008	Honda CBR1000RR	Hannspree Ten Kate Honda	28	2	7	1	5	313	4th	–
2009	Honda CBR1000RR	Hannspree Ten Kate Honda	28	0	4	0	0	209	7th	–
2010	Ducati 1098R	Althea Racing	26	3	8	1	7	297	3rd	–
2011	Ducati 1098R	Althea Racing	26	15	21	6	10	505	1st	1
2012	Ducati 1098R	Althea Racing	27	4	9	1	8	287.5	4th	–
2013	Ducati 1199 Panigale R	Team Ducati Alstare	15	0	0	1	0	80	15th	–
Total			150	24	49	10	30	1691.5		1

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Bike	1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		12		13		14		Pos	Pts
		R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2
2008	Honda	QAT 6	QAT 11	AUS 6	AUS 2	SPA 5	SPA 3	NED 2	NED 3	ITA 8	ITA Ret	USA 1	USA 1	GER 5	GER 5	SMR 5	SMR 8	CZE 8	CZE Ret	GBR 6	GBR 8	EUR Ret	EUR 9	ITA 5	ITA 5	FRA 7	FRA 4	POR 2	POR 7	4th	313
2009	Honda	AUS 12	AUS 13	QAT 5	QAT 13	SPA Ret	SPA 6	NED Ret	NED 7	ITA 9	ITA 10	RSA 6	RSA 6	USA 2	USA Ret	SMR 11	SMR 5	GBR 11	GBR Ret	CZE 2	CZE 5	GER 3	GER 3	ITA Ret	ITA 10	FRA 6	FRA 9	POR 7	POR Ret	7th	209
2010	Ducati	AUS 7	AUS 1	POR 4	POR 4	SPA Ret	SPA 2	NED 4	NED 6	ITA 14	ITA 11	RSA 2	RSA 5	USA Ret	USA Ret	SMR 2	SMR 5	CZE 9	CZE 6	GBR 7	GBR 10	GER 2	GER Ret	ITA 1	ITA 1	FRA 3	FRA 9			3rd	297
2011	Ducati	AUS 1	AUS 1	EUR 3	EUR 1	NED 3	NED 1	ITA 9	ITA 10	USA 1	USA 1	SMR 1	SMR 1	SPA Ret	SPA 3	CZE 3	CZE 3	GBR 1	GBR 1	GER 1	GER 8	ITA 3	ITA 1	FRA 1	FRA 1	POR 1	POR 4			1st	505
2012	Ducati	AUS Ret	AUS 1	ITA 1	ITA 1	NED 3	NED 17	ITA C	ITA 7	EUR 6	EUR Ret	USA 1	USA Ret	SMR 2	SMR Ret	SPA 3	SPA 7	CZE 4	CZE 3	GBR 5	GBR 6	RUS Ret	RUS 4	GER 12	GER 6	POR 2	POR 5	FRA Ret	FRA 7	4th	287.5
2013	Ducati	AUS Ret	AUS DNS	SPA 7	SPA 8	NED 10	NED 10	ITA DNS	ITA DNS	GBR 12	GBR DNS	POR 9	POR 6	ITA 11	ITA 12	RUS Ret	RUS C	GBR 13	GBR 10	GER 10	GER 10	TUR DNS	TUR DNS	USA	USA	FRA	FRA	SPA	SPA	15th	80

Suzuka 8 Hours results

Year	Team	Co-Rider	Bike	Pos
2007	HRC 33 Honda Racing	Tadayuki Okada	CBR1000RRW	2nd
2008	Dream Honda Racing	Ryuichi Kiyonari	CBR1000RRW	1st

References

1. "Carlos Checa". motogp.com. Dorna Sports. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
2. "Checa remembers Donington nightmare". motogp.com. Dorna Sports. 9 August 2004. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
3. "Checa thanks Pramac, gears up for Estoril". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
4. Carnell, Sarah (8 October 2007). "Hannspree Ten Kate Honda confirm 2008 rider line-up". Motorcycle News. Bauer Media Group. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
5. "2008 Suzuka 8 Hours results". motoracing-japan.com. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
6. Guy, Michael (18 September 2009). "Ten Kate in no rush to confirm 2010 rider line–up". Motorcycle News. Bauer Media Group. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
7. "Rea pens new Ten Kate deal". Insidebikes. Carole Nash. 25 September 2009. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
8. "Neukirchner confirmed at Ten Kate". Insidebikes. Carole Nash. 14 October 2009. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
9. "Byrne makes switch to Althea Ducati". Insidebikes. Carole Nash. 13 November 2009. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
10. "Althea still sourcing Checa problems". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 18 June 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
11. "Carlos Checa World Superbike career statistics". worldsbk.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
12. "Checa seals a double win at Phillip Island". Superbike World Championship. Infront Motor Sports. 27 February 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2011.

External links

• carloscheca.com Official website
• Media related to Carlos Checa at Wikimedia Commons