Carlos Checa concedes he is at a loss to explain why he is struggling to find the right set-up on his bike after a tough Superpole session at Misano left him down in 11th place.
After admitting to struggling for confidence in Germany, Checa arrived at latest round determined to find a cure for his Ten Kate Honda's grip problems, but while he claims progress was made during qualifying, he could not translate the same kind of pace over a single lap.
Compounding a dismal day for Honda that saw not one of their bikes qualify inside the top ten, Checa is unable to put his finger on exactly why the team have not been on the pace all weekend and is anticipating an equally tough time in the races.
“It has been difficult all weekend to find the right set-up for the bike on this track,” he said. “It looked like we made some improvement in the second qualifying, but I haven't been able to ride a perfect lap in the Superpole. We're still struggling with the tyres, I have lost the rear of the bike quite some times.
“Nothing has changed much since yesterday. We are still a second behind the front runners. I can't point out just one thing, it's a combination of issues that makes us unable to find the right pace. We still have some work to do this evening to find some improvement. It will be a hard race tomorrow.”
Although
Karl Muggeridge saved some face for Honda in 15th, it was still a day to forget for the factory-backed Ten Kate crew, with
Ryuichi Kiyonari and
Kenan Sofuoglu lining up 22nd and 24th place respectively, much to their dismay.
“Today feels like a lost day,” reigning British Superbike Champion Kiyonari said. “We've spent two days qualifying and haven't been able to improve much on our pace. My biggest struggle at the moment is the feeling with the machine.
