Checa-Biaggi head-to-head continues in Q1
Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) went head-to-head with Checa for much of the session, but any last-minute attempt by the Italian to oust his rival from the top was thwarted by a crash by Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad) four minutes from the end that interrupted proceedings.
In the crash Corser suffered a bang on his head and was taken to the medical centre for checks but the Australian should be OK for tomorrow.
Two more Italians are behind Biaggi; Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) and Michel Fabrizio (Alstare Suzuki), with Melandri's team-mate Eugene Laverty completing the top 6.