Checa challenges Rossi to race WSB
Althea Ducati rider 'officially invites' Rossi to race a Ducati 1198 at Imola
WHERE Valentino Rossi is having a crisis in MotoGP on the Ducati, things are much better for Carlos Checa as he leads the World Superbike championship on a 'privateer' 1198, having taken the Italian marques 300th superbike race win.
The success of Checa and Rossi's lack of on the Desmosedici GP11 and .1 has sparked debate in Italy with comparisons between the lap times of the pair.
He spoke on this topic with Italian newspaper Gazetta dello Sport, saying: “This has aroused a big debate in Italy and I’m starting to like it. I’m becoming a little Italian and to be honest, I enjoy being faster than him. I was at Assen and Silverstone and that means that I’m riding well. It’s not normal to post the same times with a production based bike as a prototype, that means that Rossi has problems. He’s the best, he’ll come out of it.
"I’m confident that if he raced with the 1198 he would enjoy it a lot and I would really like to race against him. On September 25th we’re at Imola and there are no conflicting schedules with MotoGP, so I’d like to officially invite him. Valentino come at least once.“
Checa also put aside any questions of whether he would retire soon, stating that he believes he is still growing and that still has a lot to give with his experience and abilities.
