“I want to show the world the best ever Carlos Checa”

Carlos Checa has spoken about the importance of staying calm and focussed ahead of this weekends Imola showdown which could see him crowned World Superbike Champion on Sunday.

The Althea Ducati rider currently leads factory Yamaha rider Marco Melandri by 74 points, meaning that he needs to outscore the Italian by 26 points this weekend to become champion.

Speaking exclusively to MCN this evening, Checa said: “My target is to approach this race the same as any other. The good thing is that we do not need to change anything because from the way we work so far this year the results have been good.

“I have had people telling me 100 times a day that I will be champion, but at this moment it is not true and winning is still quite difficult. First I need to finish both races and I need to score big points so the situation is still complicated.

“For sure we have a clear points advantage and if we keep doing the same thing then yes, mathematically we can win. So far we made a great season but everyone in the team needs to stay focussed, this is racing where anything can happen so I am fully aware of the risks.

After 18 years competing in world championship level racing the significance of potentially winning a world title is not lost on the 38 year old Spaniard.

“It is a very special moment for me, but I am trying not to think about it. Even speaking about it now I feel the emotion, the electric in my body, but really I want to save this until it happens. Now is not the right time to have emotion like this because I still have to ride the bike at 300kph so that means I must stay calm and be clever. For me it is a challenge, I know this is a unique opportunity and I want to enjoy the experience, race to my full and show the world the best ever Carlos Checa.”.