Bittersweet day for Checa at Miller
It was a bittersweet day for Carlos Checa and the Althea Racing Team at Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City, the Spaniard dominating race 1 and then crashing out of race 2.
In sunny conditions, Checa started from second position on the grid. On the second lap he was passed by Melandri and shortly afterwards both were able to get past race leader Sykes. On lap seven the Althea flagbearer got ahead of Melandri to take control of the race, remaining at the front of the pack until the finish line. Checa managed his race perfectly, keeping Melandri safely behind him and passing the chequered flag 2.3 seconds ahead of the BMW rider.
By lap two of race 2 Carlos was already in front, having passed both Melandri and Sykes. Unfortunately a red flag stopped the race on the next lap, after Aoyama crashed, leaving oil on the track. The race was restarted, with 18 laps to run, an hour later. This time Carlos was almost immediately in first position and on the second lap recorded the fastest lap of the race but, pushing to the limit, he unfortunately crashed out on the fifth lap when he lost the front. After a brief pitstop Carlos returned to the track but had lost too much ground; on lap thirteen his team called him back to the garage.
Carlos Checa: "Race 1 - a great result, a great race, a great moment! I've always had a great relationship with this track and to win here again is just fantastic, especially after some difficult recent rounds. The race wasn't an easy one and Melandri pushed right until the end, I couldn't relax for a second! But I was feeling confident with the tyre that we had chosen and was able to make a great race. I had to work hard through the corners as we seemed to be losing a lot on the straights but I am very happy with the result, and happy for the entire team that has worked so hard this weekend. In this second race I was pushing, I was feeling confident with the setting but clearly I pushed a bit too hard and lost the front. I went back on track but there was nothing I could do, I'd lost too much ground."
