Checa beats Biaggi’s best

Carlos Checa beat Max Biaggi’s pole-setting time at Catalunya in his latest test of the factory Yamaha Moto GP bike this week.

Despite a crash on Monday that left him with a just few bruises, Checa put in a total of 46 laps on Tuesday finishing with a time that improved on his 2002 GP time by almost a second. He managed a best of 1:44.3.

In an optimistic mood at the end of the session Checa said: “I still felt slightly sore after my crash but generally I am OK. I am happy with my performance. I went the fastest that I have ever ridden at this circuit. The weather conditions today weren’t great either, so I think there is even more room to improve”.

Fellow Yamaha factory rider Marco Melandri struggled to cope with the brakes on his Moto GP bike after stepping up from the 250cc class. Completing a total of 75 laps, he was much more comfortable with the new setup. “At the end of today I did 16 laps in a row as a kind of a race test, to try to understand what the bike will feel like at the end of a race. I am happy with what I achieved here, as I managed to record a best lap time of 1:45.7.”

The Team is now preparing for first IRTA test in Jerez on February 21.

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