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2011 World Superbike Champion with Ducati Carlos Checa thinks the battle for the title is not over yet, despite the strong form showed by points leader Tom Sykes recently: “You never know, there are still four rounds to be contested, meaning that there are eight individual races left and 200 points to be awarded. Of course the most consistent guy out there is Tom and surely he’s the favourite for the title, but I think we should wait a couple of more rounds.”

Checa is nevertheless surprised with the steps forward made by Ducati compared to 2013: “Ducati is the brand that has improved the most from last year. The guys worked really well on the technical side of things, the power of the bike is there now and the handling is even better than before. They have proved they can run up front, even though not on a regular basis right now. I think next year they will reach a better balance and hopefully fight for race wins and hopefully for the championship, too.”

Despite having formerly retired from racing at the end of last season, Checa does not discount any possibility for the future: “After last year my aim was to fully recover from my injury” he told WorldSBK.com. “Now I’m quite well, still not perfect and I probably need some more time. From that point we’ll see what’s on and what I can do with Ducati, I will hopefully start riding again after the summer and maybe I will be able to do something…”