Carlos Checa
Checa during theSilverstone round of the2012 Superbike World Championship
Nationality	Spanish
Born	(1972-10-15)15 October 1972 (age 53) Barcelona, Spain
Website	carloscheca.com Twitter's profile
Motorcycle racing career statistics MotoGP World Championship Active years 1995–2007,2010 Manufacturers Honda,Ducati,Yamaha Championships 0 2010 championship position 21st (1 pt) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 194 2 24 3 5 1485 250cc World Championship Active years 1993–1995 Manufacturers Honda Championships 0 1995 championship position 13th (45 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 27 0 0 0 0 108 125cc World Championship Active years 1993 Manufacturers Honda Championships 0 1993 championship position 27th (9 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 1 0 0 0 0 9 Superbike World Championship Active years 2008–2013 Manufacturers Honda,Ducati Championships 1 (2011) 2013 championship position 15th(80 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 150 24 49 10 30 1691.5

Carlos Checa Carrera (born 15 October 1972) is a Spanish former professional motorcycleroad racer and winner of the 2011Superbike World Championship. After racing in 500 cc and MotoGP for over a decade, mostly onHonda andYamaha machinery and claiming two Grand Prix victories despite not having full manufacturer support, he moved to theSuperbike World Championship on a Honda for2008 where he went on to claim 24 victories and one championship. He has a younger brother,David Checa, also a motorcycle racer who competed in theSuperbike World Championship for2008.

Born inBarcelona, Spain, Checa made his debut in 125cc and 250cc motorcycle racing in1993 forHonda. In1995, he moved up to theBlue Riband 500cc class as a replacement forAlberto Puig, a fellow Spaniard who broke both his legs in a horrifying crash in France. Checa shocked the paddock by being on the pace and nearly winning the Barcelona race.

Checa continued with the team until 1998, the year he suffered near fatal injuries with a crash atDonington Park's Craner Curves and was initially thought to have suffered only scrapes and bruises before complaining of pain. Hours later he had lost his vision,^[1] needed emergency surgery to remove his spleen and was listed in critical condition. He fought back to ride that year, missing just one race, before racing for Yamaha asMax Biaggi's teammate on two-strokes andfour-strokes. He nearly won many races but had a habit of crashing after taking the lead. One such race was at Rio de Janeiro in 2002 when he stalled on the starting line, then rode through the field to take the lead only to crash a corner later.

Checa continued racing with the factory Yamaha team for the 2003 and 2004 seasons, before he moved toMarlboroDucati in2005. In 2006 he returned to theTech 3 Yamaha team, proving much steadier than in previous years and comfortably beating teammateJames Ellison, but was not much a threat to the rest of the field, as they were onDunlop tyres. He struggled as the sole LCR Honda rider in 2007, with the 800cc Honda proving uncompetitive for many riders. At theSachsenring Checa got an updated frame, which other non-works Honda riders had found uncompetitive – this is believed to be due to Checa using the sameMichelin tyres as the works team, the other Hondas being onBridgestones.

Checa returned to the series in2010, as replacement forMika Kallio for the last two races ofthe season.^[2]

For the2008 season, Checa left MotoGP to join theTen KateHonda team in theSuperbike World Championship as a replacement for2007 championJames Toseland.^[3] AtValencia he challengedMax Neukirchner for the win at the final corner, resulting in a collision which broke Neukirchner's collarbone. Checa's first two wins – following four podium finishes – both came in the meeting atMiller Motorsports Park inSalt Lake City on 1 June 2008. He did not reach the podium again, but consistent results elsewhere allowed him to finish fifth in the championship. He also won theSuzuka 8 Hours with teammateRyuichi Kiyonari.^[4]

In2009, Checa struggled to compete for much of the season, securing just four podium finishes and finishing seventh in the riders' standings, 32 points behind satellite Honda riderLeon Haslam. During the 2009 season, Ten Kate Honda announced that they would be downsizing their operation from three riders to just two.^[5] Both Checa andRyuichi Kiyonari were released, withJonathan Rea retained^[6] and Max Neukirchner joining the team from Suzuki.^[7]

In November 2009, Checa was confirmed as a rider at the Althea Ducati team, where he would race alongsideShane Byrne.^[8] He scored Althea's first win at the season opening meeting atPhillip Island, and was on course for victories in both races atMiller Motorsports Park in the United States before suffering mystery mechanical failures in both races.^[9] Checa went on to win the Italian round atImola and finished the season in third place in the2010 championship.^[10]

Checa dominated the opening round of the2011 season, winning both races comfortably at Phillip Island on his Ducati 1098R.^[11] He won thirteen more times and was crowned the 2011 World Superbike Champion at the penultimate round at theMagny-Cours circuit in France, becoming the first Spaniard and only the third European rider from outside of the United Kingdom afterRaymond Roche andMax Biaggi to have done so.^[10]

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Co-Rider	Bike	Pos
2007	HRC 33Honda Racing	Tadayuki Okada	CBR1000RRW	2nd
2008	Dream [ja]Honda Racing	Ryuichi Kiyonari	CBR1000RRW	1st

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCarlos Checa.

• Carlos Checa at MotoGP.com
• Carlos Checa at WorldSBK.com
• Official website

• 1972 births
• Living people
• Spanish motorcycle racers
• Ducati Corse MotoGP riders
• Yamaha Motor Racing MotoGP riders
• 500cc World Championship riders
• 250cc World Championship riders
• 125cc World Championship riders
• Superbike World Championship riders
• Motorcycle racers from Barcelona
• Tech3 MotoGP riders
• Pramac Racing MotoGP riders
• LCR Team MotoGP riders
• MotoGP World Championship riders
• World Rallycross Championship drivers

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