Confident Checa ready to race

Current World Superbike champion Carlos Checa said he was more concerned with continuing the development of his Ducati 1198 than setting fastest laps on the final day of the Phillip Island test.

The Althea Racing star was knocked off the top of the time sheets by Kawasaki's Tom Sykes, but ended the two-day shakedown with the second quickest time overall.
His fastest lap was 1m 31.652s, marginally slower than Sykes' best effort of 1m 31.648s.

Checa proclaimed himself more than satisfied as he builds towards this weekend's first round at the Australian circuit, where he is confident the Ducati package will be difficult to overcome.

"We were able to complete our work programme with some very satisfying results and this is what counts, more than the times. We worked with both the 200 tyres and the 190 tyres and I must say I prefer the setting we have with the 200," said the veteran Spaniard.

"I'm feeling happy with the bike and the setting that we have but now we must wait to see how the track conditions, temperature and tyres will be this weekend. We know that this is one of the best tracks for the Ducati and so we want to make the most of this opportunity. I will focus, do my best and we'll see what this can bring us on Sunday."

Checa's team-mate, Davide Giugliano, improved his best lap by just over a second (1m 32.319s) to take the seventh fastest time in the morning session.

"I am pleased with what we got done today. I am gradually getting to grips with my bike and with the new track and today we've seen some more positive results," he said.

"Testing has gone well, we've tried many different things and the team has worked extremely hard, sharing with me all of their knowledge and experience. I've improved on yesterday's times but the important thing is that we have maintained a good pace, especially in this afternoon's hot conditions."