Checa speaks about 2012 so far and his favourite track
As part of the build-up to the Miller Motorsports Park race on Monday 28th May the circuit, in collaboration with Infront Motor Sports, regularly conducts question and answer sessions between local journalists and top SBK competitors. The most recent participant was with none other than Carlos Checa, the undisputed king of MMP in terms of recent results there. And the 2011 SBK champion for Althea Racing Ducati, of course.
His first reply to the question of where he will find motivation again for 2012's title push - having achieved his long held ambition in 2011 - was very illuminating. "The same as every year," said Carlos, unequivocally. "Each year I set out to improve, both as a rider and as a person. It was fantastic to win last year, but this year we must start over and face the championship as a new challenge, as if last year never happened. I have always put importance on self-development; we never stop learning and I approach racing in that way - every race will teach me something new, every race will help me to grow."
Checa was also asked about what he thought of the decision from Ducati not to compete on their all-new Panigale 1199 in 2012, keeping it for Superstock use only. "I think Ducati's strategy to race the 1199 in the Superstock championship before moving into the SBK championship in 2013 is a good one, as it gives them more time to ‘fine-tune' it, just like they did in 2007 with the 1098. From a personal point of view, I was very comfortable with the 1198 in 2011 and, together with this bike, I took the SBK title - so I admit I was a little wary of changing to the 1199, which seems to be a very different bike. I've heard great things about it, but I haven't ridden the 1199 yet so I can't say any more, but from what I've heard it definitely sounds like the potential is there."
Even though his SBK 1098R is the same in broad terms as it was in 2011, Checa, and all the other riders on twin-cylinder machines, have some extra kilos to carry by regulation. After one round has been held under the new rules, Checa is not 100% sure which circuits will prove more difficult than others to get around, but he has some idea. "We have always struggled with top speed, and this is most obvious at tracks with long straights, so Monza and Portimao, for example," quoted Checa. "Adding any extra weight is a disadvantage, of course; the whole philosophy of racing is based on making the bike as light as possible, so 6kg more than last year is for sure a problem. We have evaluated how best to distribute this weight, and that is all we can do."
After one weekend with the new single bike rules in place Checa was asked about his opinion of this new initiative, designed to save money and make riders thing through their weekend more clearly. He stated, "It basically gives teams a lot more work to do. I was very sceptical when I first heard about the planned changes. Although the idea is for teams to cut costs, each team still needs to have enough parts to build a "second" bike from a rolling chassis in case of emergency. Maybe people thought that riders would go more carefully and there would be fewer crashes, but look how many crashes there were just at Phillip Island! So I don't know how much money teams are really saving. Sessions have been spaced out to give teams a fighting chance of repairing any crashed bikes in between, but it's not easy. I crashed in Race 1 at Phillip Island, and my boys worked like crazy to build a new bike for me for Race 2."
Of his special relationship with MMP, and how he could improve on his already outstanding success there, Checa turned back to his personal mantra of improvement at every step. "Like I already said, I feel there is always room to learn something new," asserted Carlos, the true king of MMP in SBK mode. "I always like to see if I can improve on ‘personal bests,' and so that's what I'll be aiming for once more at Miller this season. The extra weight will be a hindrance (as it is at every track), especially in light of this year's stiff competition! I basically approach every weekend, mentally speaking, as if it was the first, and then we see what we can do."
