FIM World Superbike Championship
Round 14: Portimao, Portugal
November 2, 2008

In his rookie season riding a Honda CBR1000RR World Superbike, seasoned MotoGP veteran Carlos Checa has made a terrific showing. Biggest of all has to be his double wins at Miller Motorsports Park earlier this year. But number two has to be in Race One of the season’s last event in Portugal.

Checa had qualified eleventh, and spent the first half of the race in eighth and seventh. But a little before the halfway point, he really hit the afterburners, jumping two positions on one lap, and suddenly, on lap 16, moving into second! It was a spectacular come-from-behind performance. The eventual race winner, Troy Bayliss, had a rock-solid lead, but Checa’s standout ride was a clear challenge to the rest of the field.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Rea (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) was an outstanding fourth in his first WSB ride, 15 seconds from the victory after 22 laps of intense action. (Rea had swapped his CBR600RR for Kenan Sofuoglu’s CBR1000RR for this race, while “Superglue” rode a 600 in the Supersport event.) Rea started from third place on the grid, earned during a wet Superpole qualifying session on Saturday. He was 15th in Race Two, after running with the leading riders once more, until he took to the gravel and narrowly avoided crashing while trying to outbrake two other riders into turn one.

In Race Two, Checa again rode well, but couldn’t equal his first-race blast, and he finished seventh. The top Honda finisher in that race was Leon Haslam, son of legendary Honda GP rider Ron Haslam, on an HM Plant Honda CBR1000RR.

At the end of the season, Checa is fourth in overall points, just 14 points out of third place. His view on the race? “Overall, I am satisfied with the weekend's performance. We had some problems during qualifying, but I was able to start well and had a great feeling from the bike in Race One. In the second race, everything felt good again and I was able to fight my way to the front. Unfortunately, things happened that were beyond our control, but this track is fantastic because, in the tarmac run-off, I was able to avoid first Ruben [Xaus, who crashed] and then his bike.”

FIM World Superbike Championship, Round 14: Race 1

1. Troy Bayliss  (Duc)
2. Carlos Checa  (Honda)
3. Troy Corser  (Yam)
4. Jonathan Rea  (Honda)
5. Fonsi Nieto  (Suz)
6. Gregorio Lavilla  (Honda)
7. Leon Haslam  (Honda)
8. Ryuichi Kiyonari  (Honda)
9. Ruben Xaus  (Duc)
10. Regis Laconi  (Kaw)

FIM World Superbike Championship, Round 14: Race 2

1. Troy Bayliss  (Duc)
2. Michel Fabrizio  (Duc)
3. Leon Haslam  (Honda)
4. Max Neukirchner  (Suz)
5. Fonsi Nieto  (Suz)
6. Troy Corser  (Yam)
7. Carlos Checa  (Honda)
8. Gregorio Lavilla  (Honda)
9. Cal Crutchlow  (Honda)
10. Regis Laconi  (Kaw)

FIM World Superbike Championship Final Standings

1. Troy Bayliss  (Duc) 460
2. Troy Corser  (Yam) 342
3. Noriyuki Haga  (Yam) 327
4. Carlos Checa  (Honda) 313
5. Max Neukirchner  (Suz) 311
6. Fonsi Nieto  (Suz) 256
7. Max Biaggi  (Duc) 238
8. Michel Fabrizio  (Duc) 223
9. Ryuichi Kiyonari  (Honda) 206
10. Ruben Xaus  (Duc) 178