DAVID CHECA TO RACE AT MUGELLO WITH FORTUNA-YAMAHA
Reigning World Endurance Champion David Checa will compete
in the Italian Grand Prix next weekend with the FORTUNA YAMAHA
TEAM.
The Spanish rider will replace Toni Elías, who is
still recovering from an injury sustained during a day of
tests following the French Grand Prix at Le Mans.
Elías underwent an operation in Barcelona after fracturing
the radius and scaphoid of his left wrist and rupturing the
ligaments that link the triquetral bone and the radius. The
rider also fractured the outside of his left fibula and his
leg was put in a cast. According to Doctor Xavier Mir from
the Instituto Dexeus in Barcelona, who has been responsible
for the treatment issued to Elías, the FORTUNA-YAMAHA
requires a five-week recovery period from the time of the
crash, assuming the injuries recover in a favourable manner.
The injury gives David Checa the opportunity to make his
debut in MotoGP, the world’s premier motorcycle racing
series, with a factory he already knows well. This season
Checa and Yamaha already enjoyed a spectacular victory at
the 24 Hours race at Le Mans.
Checa, 25, competed in the 250cc World Championship from
2000 until 2002, firstly with Honda and then later with Aprilia,
taking a best ever finish of sixth place in his final appearance
at the 2002 Valencian Grand Prix.
The rider from Sant Fruitós de Bages (Barcelona) has
been racing since 1996 and regularly competes in four-stroke
categories such as Endurance, Supersport and Superbikes. This
experience will mean that his first point of contact in MotoGP
will not be as radical as people might think under the circumstances
of his arrival in the category.
David will travel to Mugello on Tuesday and will link up
with the rest of the team directed by Hervé Poncharal.
Antonio Jiménez, Chief Mechanic to Toni Elías
and previously to David’s elder brother Carlos Checa,
will be using all his MotoGP experience as he presides over
David’s debut.
Checa will also meet up with his new team-mate Ruben Xaus,
who has only recently completed the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage
alongside the other FORTUNA World Championship riders. The
pair are already great friends and often train together riding
Supermoto.
This year, as well as his participation and victory in the
Le Mans 24 hours, Checa was planning to compete in the Bol
d’Or, which will take place at the Magny Cours circuit
in France.
DAVID CHECA – Manresa (Barcelona), 20-04-1980.
-1996: competes in 125cc Spanish Championship
-1997: competes in Supersport Spanish and Catalonian Championships
-1998: 4th in Supersport European Championship.
1st in Catalunya 24 Hours.
-1999: Test rider for Ducati and Pirelli in World Supersport.
-2000: 19th in 250cc World Championship
-2001: 17th in 250cc World Championship
-2002: 13th in 250cc World Championship
-2003: Debut en in World Endurance Championship
1st in Oschersleben 24 Hours
-2004: World Endurance Champion with GMT-94 Yamaha Racing
France Ipone, alongside Christophe Guyot, William Costes and
Sebastien Gimbert.
-2005: Pirelli test rider for World Superbike.
1st at Le Mans 24 Hours.
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