A fourth win of the season in six races, the ninth in his SBK career, but for Carlos Checa Sunday's win in race 2 at the Assen TT Circuit was one of his best. Following a third in race 1, the Althea Racing man again stepped onto the top of the podium in the second run, beating Max Biaggi with a superb pass two laps from the chequered flag.

For race 2 the Spanish rider chose a softer tyre solution and the superior race-long grip level enabled him to take another win and strengthen his championship lead in the run-up to Monza, which is notoriously a difficult track for the Ducati 1198 machine. Checa now has a 43 point advantage over Biaggi and 47 over Marco Melandri.

"The beginning of race 1 was difficult," explained Checa. "I didn't have enough grip and so some of my rivals were able to get past me. Then I really had to push to make up lost ground. I tried to stay calm and maintain my rhythm and was able to get in front of the second group, but to reach Max and Johnny was just too difficult. They already had an advantage because I had lost time getting past Laverty. I happily accept the result however, a positive end that gives us important championship points."

"Then for Race 2 we decided to change tyre and so, with the softer solution, I had more grip and could maintain a strong pace right from the start. I wanted to push at the beginning and try to build a gap between me and Max but he stayed with me, putting me under pressure. When I made a small mistake and he passed me in the final stages, I was able to see that he was having some tyre trouble. I got back past him and took the win, a result that is surprising but fantastic. At Monza we will try to defend our position as best we can, knowing that it will be a very tough track for us."