Brno, 18 August: In warm and sunny conditions at Brno, Honda LCR rider Carlos Checa qualified in 12th position for tomorrow’s Czech Republic Grand Prix. Checa is aiming for a top ten finish in the 22 lap race on the classic Brno layout, which features a demanding combination of fast uphill and downhill sections.


During today’s two hours of practice and qualifying, Checa and the LCR team continued to optimise the set-up of the Honda RC212V, now fitted with an updated exhaust and engine specification. While pleased with his race tyre performance, Checa was disappointed not to improve on his final qualifying run. Casey Stoner qualified on pole position.

CHECA: Twelfth - 1’58.143

CHECA: “The warmer weather today helped the tyre performance and a hotter race day will even be better. On race tyres I was running times in the top seven, but I couldn’t improve on the final qualifying tyre, there was some traffic plus I didn't have a enough mid-corner speed today. We tried many adjustments and made some small gains, but the set-up is still not perfect. The top speed and engine response is much better but we still need to find some solutions. I think we have a good tyre choice for the race and a strong top ten finish should be achievable.”

In 250cc qualifying, the bumpy Brno circuit caused problems for Irish rookie Eugene Laverty who is making his first appearance at this demanding track. Laverty said his qualifying position, 25th, does not reflect his true potential for the race.

LAVERTY: “I know I can go much faster than this and hopefully we can find a front set-up to handle the bumps here, that is my big problem. I’ve learnt the track no problem, but as soon as I try to go faster I struggle with the bumps.”