Checa exclusive: “Ducati wasn’t the most interesting bike in Qatar”

The Spanish DAZN team following this year’s championship is not exactly short on former riders, with Alex Crivillé and Carlos Checa taking turns, in addition to new recruit Jorge Lorenzo. We spoke to Checa, a man who wrote an important page of Superbike history when he won the 2011 title with the team Althea Ducati, to see what he had to say about the season-opener in Qatar.

The emotion of the Gresini win

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We started with Ducati, and Enea Bastianini’s extraordinary win: “I’m so pleased in terms of what this means for the Gresini team and for Fausto’s memory. Winning this race was a tribute to Fausto, a very emotional victory. But from a technical standpoint, it’s strange not to see the factory bikes up front”. As for the Desmosedici GP22, one thing seems clear: “Something prevented the factory riders from giving it their all as they usually do. Qatar is unique, but their rivals have grown significantly. Ducati wasn’t the most interesting bike at this first round. Although it continues to be one of the best bikes, as demonstrated by Bastianini”.

Surprise and disappointment at the Qatar GP

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The first race brought surprises in terms of the levels of competition: “Pol (Espargaró) was very strong, I don’t know what happened to Marc Marquez, but it looks as if he’s still struggling physically. Aleix Espargaró surprised me, running one of the best races I’ve ever seen with the Aprilia. And both Bastianini and Brad Binder surprised me too, because they’re very young and hadn’t scored particular results in the past, especially with the KTM”. A number of different bikes ran up front, prompting Carlos to comment: “It’s going to be a more balanced championship, so it will be tough to pick a title favourite, but it will be fun because the races will be unpredictable.”

Checa: "Aprilia? Let’s see in the next races"

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As for the technical level, Checa muses: “The Suzuki has improved, and the Honda is probably the bike that’s changed the most. Aprilia has also taken a small step forward, though both Aprilia and Aleix Espargaró always do well in Qatar, so we’ll need to see in the next races”. The only manufacturer that appeared in real difficulty was Yamaha: “It’s the bike that’s suffering the most. Particularly because the engine really counts in Qatar and it looks like they haven’t found the power they wanted. I'm not sure they ever will in fact, because the engine is what it is, you can’t change it”.

Expectations for Mandalika

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The next round will play out at Mandalika, where MotoGP is competing for the first time after completing a test session at the track in February. Checa has this to say: “During the test, the asphalt was dirty and in a poor state. This time they’ll have new asphalt, so the test references will no longer count”. But the manufacturers might be better prepared: “After this first round, everyone will have drawn conclusions and made some changes, particularly those who failed to meet with expectation”. But it’s hard to make any predictions as yet: “The track is very different. The engine counts for less perhaps, so maybe Yamaha will have a better chance. It will be a very different race and we hope that the track will be in a good condition for the event”.

Translated by Heather Watson

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