MCN Donington WSB: Checa takes pole

Championship leader Carlos Checa will start from pole position tomorrow at the MCN-backed Donington Park WSB round.

Checa dominated the final two sessions of superpole, and set pole with a fastest lap of 1’28.099 in the final session. By far the fastest lap of the weekend from any rider.

Brit Leon Haslam starts from second on the grid ahead of fellow Brit Tom Sykes onboard the Kawasaki.

Smrz qualified fourth with Noriyuki Haga in fifth – beating the factory Aprilias of Max Biaggi and Leon Camier in sixth and seventh respectively.

Castrol Honda rider Jonathan Rea will start from eighth on the grid, ahead of Marco Melandri in ninth, who despite running at the front of every free practice and qualifying session was unable to set a fast lap during superpole.

Eugene Laverty will start from 13th on the grid after a big crash at Craner curves within the first minute of the first sesson destroyed his number one bike. Despite going back out on his number two bike he was unable to break in to the top 12.

1. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 1’28.099
2. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1’28.365
3. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’28.556
4. Jakub Smrz (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1’28.561
5. Noriyuki Haga (PATA Racing Team Aprilia) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’28.673
6. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’28.702
7. Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’28.737
8. Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 1’29.514
9. Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) Yamaha YZF R1 1’28.803
10. Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1’28.836
11. Michel Fabrizio (Team Suzuki Alstare) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’29.135
12. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’29.422
13. Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team) Yamaha YZF R1 1’29.312
14. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1’29.879
15. Maxime Berger (Supersonic Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 1’30.002
16. Ruben Xaus (Castrol Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 1’30.076
17. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team) BMW S1000 RR 1’30.169
18. Roberto Rolfo (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’30.680
19. Mark Aitchison (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’31.117
20. Chris Vermeulen (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’31.48