Checa, Melandri and Sykes quick on the draw at MotorLand

Spain's Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati), Italian Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) and Britain's Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) were all quick on the draw in the SBK Paddock Show this morning at the MotorLand Aragon circuit in Spain.

In the build-up to the eighth round of the season, the three riders were invited to sketch caricatures of each other under the expert guidance of a local artist, Juan Pablo Omella, who had previously laid the groundwork with a series of full-colour drawings of their bikes.

Despite none of the three having had their hands on a drawing pencil since their school days, their attempts to portray their closest rivals were notable to say the least and each rider's outstanding features were highlighted in the ‘nicest' possible way.

Things will get more serious with the start of on-track action tomorrow morning, as Checa, Melandri and Sykes, together with the rest, get their Aragon challenge underway with first practice at 11.45 am.