Checa wins Superpole at impressive speed BMW second

Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) took his second pole of the 2011 season by posting the fastest lap of the weekend in Superpole three, a 1'28.099. Local rider Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) will line up behind Checa at his home track, with another British rider, Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike) third. The last spot on the front row will be taken by Czech star Jakub Smrz (Effenbert - Liberty Racing Ducati). Noriyuki Haga (Pata Racing Team Aprilia) and Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) completed the top six while leading contender Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) just missed out on the final Superpole session and will start Sunday's races from row three.
Carlos Checa: "What can I say? Everything is working so well here at Donington, we expected to go well and we did it.

Melandri impresses with maiden World Superbike podium

Melandri Impresses with Maiden World Superbike Podium at Phillip Island. Yamaha World Superbike Team rider Marco Melandri ended his podium drought this afternoon, stepping up to take third position in the second World Superbike race, his first podium since 2009. The World Superbike rookie started well from his second row position, closing in on defending World Champion Max Biaggi and pushing him to the race finale, interchanging for second position a number of times before finally settling for third at the line, less than 1.5 seconds from double race winner Carlos Checa.

The first race of the day saw both Melandri and his teammate Eugene Laverty start well, Laverty impressing by leading the first two laps of his first ever Superbike race, before dropping back to swap positions with Melandri several times.