Assen, 30 June: Honda LCR rider Carlos Checa finished 11th in a hard fought Dutch TT at Assen today. Checa showed his trademark fighting spirit in a close, late race battle that saw him finish just 0.2s outside ninth place after he had started from position 16 on the grid.

In sunny but cool conditions, Checa fought tenaciously in a four man group with Alex Hofmann, Anthony West and Marco Melandri but lacked full confidence on the brakes to find a way past. The race was a an impressive return to form for Checa who lost time in yesterday’s wet qualifying session to maximise his dry track set-up. The race was won by Valentino Rossi.

CHECA: Eleventh - Championship: 14th/25 points

CHECA: “It was great to be fighting for a place in the top ten and I had a great battle with Hofmann, West and Melandri. In the beginning it took some time for my rear tyre to come up to temperature but then I was able to race with the others. I had some fun with Marco passing him once, but I just lacked full confidence on the brakes to push any harder, it was difficult to find a gap on the brakes. But I’m happy for the team that we were able to score some points today.”

The 250cc race was a huge disappointment for Irish rookie Eugene Laverty who lost any chance of a competitive race with an incorrect rear tyre choice and he finished in 21st position.

LAVERTY: “After eight laps I knew I had made the wrong tyre choice at the rear, the bike was sliding around a lot. I learnt a big lesson, I should have raced with a harder compound like the other Honda riders, but I was told after the warm-up the softer tyre would be OK. “