Superbikes Italia 2012: Carlos Checa, double and leader of the championship
Superbikes Italia 2012: Carlos Checa, double and leader of the championship

Video: Superbikes Italia 2012: Carlos Checa, double and leader of the championship

Video: Superbikes Italia 2012: Carlos Checa, double and leader of the championship
Video: Carlos Checa conquers the title at Magny-Cours in 2011 | #FRAWorldSBK 2024, March
Anonim

When i see Carlos Checa Winning gives me the feeling of watching the same race over and over again. It makes it seem extremely simple and the truth is that Carlos has been using the same strategy since last year and for now it has only brought him joy. But we will leave that for another time … because what we have to do now is to tell Checa's victory in the second Imola race, from where he comes out as the leader of the championship.

And that the race started with a very plugged-in Max Biaggi. From the second row of the grid he advanced to the first stop where the interior gave him the lead of the group. Tom Sykes, second, was astonished when he saw the colors of the Aprilia RSV4 Factory that had just passed him when he thought he had everything under control. Too Eugene laverty, still recovering from injuries, he encouraged a group in which all aspired to get on the Italian podium.

Tom Sykes Imola 2012
Tom Sykes Imola 2012

There they were the usual: Carlos Checa, Jonathan Rea, Leon Haslam, Marco Melandri, Sylvain Guintoli and until Joan Lascorz. All with fear in their bodies when seeing the minimalist tail of the Corsair meters ahead, fearful of a possible solo escape. A getaway that never happened since between Carlos and Tom Sykes Max could do nothing but calm down, bide his time and plan the attack. In just three laps two groups began to differentiate; the head with Sykes, Checa and Biaggi and the pursuer with Laverty, Haslam, Rea, Guintoli and Melandri. From the latter, Rea would fall, not literally, sinking in the classification.

Sykes I was afraid of Carlos Checa, normal after what was seen in the first race. So the british He did not hesitate to squeeze the Ninja's right fist to the maximum as soon as the Pirelli allowed it. And when not, also, that for something it gives pleasure to see him pilot. And the truth is that it seemed that this time he would get it, give finally a victory without "buts" to Kawasaki. Even Carlos and Max were beginning to fear for their positions at the top when they realized that Ron's son had already gotten out of Laverty and if it was not enough, set two track records in a row.

Afraid. A lot of fear was what the noise of the BMW was getting every time it faced the finish line. By the time Haslam was on top of the duo of champions. Carlos got off the piano and Max took the opportunity to win the position but at the chicane, the Ducati ripped off the stickers from the right fairing of the Roman. For a short time, because when it came to gas the Aprilia unleashed its power: goodbye Carlos and stickers back. And Haslam, aboard what would be a plane if it weren't for the absence of wings, was flying over the Catalan's Ducati without any problem. Yes indeed, in the braking Czech put it back in its place.

After the halfway point of the race, the Czech moment arrives. Or what is the same, that moment in which it seems that the race is decided, that Carlos is too far away, that he cannot. But for some strange reason, even if it was passed like nothing a lap before, that Ducati 1098R from 2008 begins to pick up the pace. Keeping it. Without mistakes or doubts. And suddenly the gap to the leader narrows, lap by lap, to a point where the horns of the "Seven Bull" on the front touch Sykes' crown. In Tosa, that curve to the left, slow and uphill in front of the stands, the Ducati brakes thousandths later than the British. Something that would not be enough to overtake in any other part of the world but, nevertheless, in Italy the clamor of the stands mutes the engines and Tom, unconsciously and carried away by that heat that makes him sweat nervously, leaves a thousand-meter gap. Enough to pass the narrow twin.

Carlos Checa Imola win
Carlos Checa Imola win

Meters behind, Haslam was imposed on Max Biaggi, deflated when not being able to face his main rival for the title. Quite the opposite occurred with Johnny Rea's great comeback. As we said, Rea was losing time in the first lap, dropping to 14th position. From there began a comeback that seemed to stagnate in tenth place, including a country walk, but against all odds it reached fifth place.

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