History of Carlos Checa
In 2003 Carlos Checa once again proved himself
to be one of the leading riders on the MotoGP
grid. He finished seventh in the championship
and the top Yamaha rider, achieving several
fourth-place finishes and three front row
starts. Carlos will partner Valentino Rossi
in the Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha Team in 2004
on the YZR-M1 and early testing this year
has shown that he is on the pace and ready
to fight with the leaders.One of MotoGP's
most popular and friendly riders, Checa was
an advocate of the rule change that saw the
introduction of 990cc four-stroke machines
for the 2002 season.
One of MotoGP's most popular and friendly
riders, Checa was an advocate of the rule
change that saw the introduction of 990cc
four-stroke machines for the 2002 season.
Having trained away from the races on a highly-tuned
Yamaha R1 road bike, Checa was a big fan of
the powerful YZR-M1 from the beginning.
'El Toro' comes from the bike-mad Barcelona
area and made his debut in the premier 500cc
class midway through 1995 substituting for
an injured team-mate. He had worked his way
to the top class via short spells in 125cc
and 250cc GPs but adapted quickly to the premier
class and secured a permanent 500cc berth,
and an impressive first victory, the following
year.
Checa is super quick, super tough and super
nice, a combination that has taken him into
the heart of many fans. Away from the circuit
he enjoys a quiet life, and takes every opportunity
to exercise in the great outdoors. A UK resident
for some time now, in early 2004 Carlos moved
from the remote countryside of Yorkshire to
the centre of London. In between races he
now lives in the area of Westminster, near
the famous landmarks of the Houses of Parliament
and Big Ben.
- Date of birth - 15.10.1972
- Place of birth - Sant Fruitos, Spain
- Nationality - Spanish
- Residence - London, UK
- Height - 174 cm
- Weight - 69 kg
- Marital status - Single
- Hobbies - Reading, karting, mountainbiking,
skiing, his race-prepped YZF-R1
- Team - Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha Team
- Bike - YZR-M1
- Grand Prix contested in total - 152, (1
x 125cc) (27 x 250cc) (124 x MotoGP)
- First Grand Prix - 1993
- First race - 1989
- Victories in total - 2, (2 x 500cc)
- First victory - 1996
- Podiums - 21 (21 x 500cc)
- First podium - 1996
- Pole positions - 1 (1 x 500cc)
- First pole - 1998
- World championship wins in total - 0
- 2004 - Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha Team,
MotoGP World Championship
- 2003 - 7th, MotoGP World Championship
- 2002 - 5th, MotoGP World Championship
- 2001 - 6th, 500 MotoGP World Championship
- 2000 - 6th, 500 MotoGP World Championship
- 1999 - 7th, 500 GP World Championship
- 1998 - 4th, 500 GP World Championship
- 1997 - 8th, 500 GP World Championship
- 1996 - 8th, 500 GP World Championship
- 1995 - 16th, 500 GP World Championship,
13th in 250 GP World Championship
- 1994 - 12th, 250 GP World Championship
- 1993 - 23rd, 250 GP World Championship,
27th in 125 GP World Championship, 3rd in
125 Spanish Championship
- 1992 - 8th, 125 GP European Championship
- 1991 - 80 GP SPANISH CHAMPION
- 1990 - 7th, 80 GP Spanish Championship
* correct as of 21.01.2004
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