2008 Hannspree World SuperBike Championship Round 6, Salt Lake City, U.S.A, June 1st Race Report

  CHECA DOES THE DOUBLE IN UTAH

Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Carlos Checa powered to a sensational double win in the sixth round of the HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship at the Miller Motorsports Park in the U.S.A. The race watch by 51,000 spectators, marked World Superbikes return to the United States for the first time since 2004. The Spanish star scored his first double win of his career and set the fastest lap in both races to add to his superpole, and in doing so secured Honda their 100th victory in the Superbike World Championship. With two wins, Checa has reduced the the gap to leader Xerox Ducati's Troy Bayliss to just 28 points after the Australian left the u.s.a with zero points due to a crash and a technical problem in two races.

Race One. The first race was reduced by one lap after a problem for Michel Fabrizio on the grid and a subsequent restart. Rookie Carlos Checa took his first win in superbikes after starting from pole, moving into the lead on lap four and having an untroubled run until the flag. Second place went to Yamaha Motor Italia's Troy Corser who had not finished on the podium since Valencia, while Xerox Ducati's Michel Fabrizio powered his way up to third after concluding the opening lap in fourteenth place. The Italian passed Alstare Suzuki's Max Neukirchner three laps from the end. Fifth place went to Alstare Suzuki's Fonsi Nieto who was just ahead of Guandalini Racing's Jakub Smrz and DF Racing's Karl Muggeridge, eighth Alstare Suzuki's Yukio Kagayama, ninth Sterilgarda Go-Eleven Ducati's Max Biaggi ninth and in tenth was Hannspree Ten Kate Honda's Ryuichi Kiyonari. Championship leader Troy Bayliss crashed out of lap five as did Yamaha Motor Italia's Nori Haga who was racing with a broken collarbone.

Race Two. Once in the lead, race one winner Carlos Checa cruised to his second win of the day by beating Alstare Suzuki's Max Neukirchner by over four seconds. The final place on the podium went to Xerox Ducati's Michel Fabrizio who also had a podium from race one. Fourth place went to Sterilgarda Go-Eleven Ducati's Max Biaggi who at one point was up for a podium, but seemed to fail towards the end. Neukirchner's team-mate Yukio Kagayama finished just ahead of his injured fellow countryman Nori Haga who done well to finish in the top sixth as he was riding with a badly broken coller bone, seventh was Hannspree Ten Kate Honda's Ryuichi Kiyonari, eighth Alstare Suzuki's Fonsi Nieto, ninth PSG-1 Kawasaki's Regis Laconi and rounding ou the top ten was Team RG Ducati's Lorenzo Lanzi. If Troy Bayliss race one was a disaster race two did'nt fair to well either, as the gear changer on his Ducati jammed forcing the Aussie to retire, while fellow countryman Yamaha Motor Italia's Troy Corser crashed out while in third position three laps from the chequred flag leaving the Australian punching the air in temper as he see a second podium finish of the day cruely being taken from him for no fault of his own. With Bayliss scoring zero pints from the round the championship now stands at Bayliss 194 points, Checa 166 points, Neukirchner 144 points, Nieto 126 points and Haga on 124 points.