Ducati team overplayed others

Carlos Checa the rider of Ducati 1198 came on good position of the 2011 World Superbike Championship season this weekend. Round two of the WSBK was held at Donington Park where, in the first race, Checa, on his Althea Racing Ducati 1198 came in third. Jakub Smrz secured his first ever podium position with a career best second on his Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing Ducati 1198, extending the Manufacturers’ championship lead and underlining Ducati’s strategy of private team support.

Starting from an impressive pole position set on Saturday, Checa lacked “feeling” from his rear tyre in the cold Donington Park conditions. Slipping back to eleventh position by the end of lap one, he gradually found his rythym and was able to chase down the leading group on his Ducati 1198, passing first Corser (BMW), then Rea (Honda) and Camier (Aprilia). Up to fourth place by lap 19, Checa’s determination saw him lap below 1m 30 seconds for the final three laps to secure third position just before the finish line. Czech Republic rider, Jakub Smrz clinched his first ever podium position with a rewarding second place, having dominated much of the race on his Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing Ducati 1198.

Carlos Checa and his technicians changed their set-up to a softer tyre for the second race and with a higher track temperature made a great start, quickly passing Haslam (BMW) to take the lead and increasing the gap between him and the chasing pack. With the risk of the soft tyre choice becoming an issue during the final stages, Checa carefully controlled the race taking the chequered flag with a well-calculated 3.3 second advantage over Melandri (Yamaha).

The early season results so far highlight Ducati’s continued commitment to their World Superbike strategy of supplying 1198 technical support to private teams while concentrating on the development of their Superbike product. The highly competitive series moves to the Dutch track of Assen on 17 April.

Since a long time Ducati bikes are coming on good position in the all the world's popular championships. This year the company launched the Ducati Diavel which might be used in the upcoming racing championships. Meanwhile its another popular bike models like Ducati Hypermotard, Ducati Monster, Ducati Superbike etc. performed well.