Carlos made a good start to race one, positioning himself fourth at the end of the first lap. On lap three he was able to get past Laverty to take third and from that point on he pushed hard to reach the two leaders, Melandri and Biaggi, who had already built up almost a two second lead.

Towards mid-race, Carlos was lapping faster than anyone on track and with this impressive pace he was able to close the gap and reach Max in second position. He got past him on the twelfth lap but Biaggi almost immediately moved back in front of him. The fight for the podium places continued right up to the finish line. Checa gave it his all and his determination rewarded him with third place at a circuit that has never made his life very easy.

On an even hotter track (50˚C), Checa made a strong start to race two. In third place at the end of lap one, he soon reached race leaders Melandri and Biaggi. He followed the two Italian riders for the remainder of the race, but although he was able to stick with them he could not manage to pass them. Carlos closed this second race of the day with the same result as the first; a third place finish and 16 important championship points.

"I'm really very happy with a double podium here," said Checa. "In Race 1 my start wasn't so bad but it took a few laps to pass Eugene and once past him it took some time to reach Max and Marco ahead. Once there I tried to keep the pace and stick with them. It was hard to find the right place to pass, I got by Max at one point but he came straight back past me. It was a great battle and to be honest I am happy with third because this has always been a tough track for me. Considering the situation, the track, our rivals, we are quite satisfied. We worked well all weekend, found a good set-up, chose the right tyre and really did our best. Max and Marco were really very strong today, it's a shame I couldn't quite be there with them but we're happy nevertheless. We still have a lead in the championship and it is important that we are competitive and consistently fast. Silverstone will be another difficult one for us but then come other tracks where we are at less of a disadvantage so we'll see. I'm taking it one race at a time."