Marco Bezzecchi
Former MotoGP rider Carlos Checa has revealed the biggest lesson he learned during his rivalry with Valentino Rossi in the premier class, pinpointing it as one of the main reasons why he never won a title in the sport.
Checa was given his first shot in the premier class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing in the midst of the 1995 500cc season, as a replacement for the injury-stricken Alberto Puig at the Honda-backed Pons Racing outfit.
The Spaniard quickly made a name for himself, with his first Grand Prix victory on 500cc machinery coming in the following year at his home race in Catalunya. Despite the quick start to his career, it would mark the first of only two premier class victories for Checa.
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The second came at the 1998 Madrid Grand Prix, where Checa was able to capitalise on an early off from Mick Doohan to claim his final chequered flag in the sport. Unfortunately, disaster would strike two rounds later, at the British Grand Prix.
Checa suffered near-fatal injuries at Donington Park that year, following a crash at turn three. He was understood to have sustained minor bruises, but his condition escalated to a point where it became critical.
He was forced to undergo emergency surgery to remove his spleen, but still managed to return to action at the Czech Grand Prix that year after missing just one round of racing for the ordeal.
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Carlos Checa reveals the biggest lesson Valentino Rossi ever taught him
During an appearance on the Fast & Curious podcast, Checa recalled how the incident affected him and the lesson that he had learned from Valentino Rossi regarding his commitment to finding the limit on a MotoGP bike.
“With Valentino, he taught me a lesson. I believe I had the ability, but in the end, what really left its mark on me was the accident in ’98. We were second in the world championship, and that really affected me, and I think part of the rider in me was lost from that point on.
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“Still, I emerged a better person, because you start to value things very differently afterwards, especially when you’re on the verge of losing everything. Those were very critical moments for me, on a personal level, and it took me a long time to recover from that.”
Checa then went on to elaborate on what he had learned from Rossi upon his return to action in 1998.
“For me, the mental aspect, with Valentino, with Biaggi, Sito Pons too, actually – riders with such determination and an incredible ability to concentrate at moments when you’re risking everything.
“That’s probably what has affected me the most, or what has held me back the most, from winning a 500cc world championship, which I believe we could have easily achieved in 2000 – we were leading the championship.
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“That’s when I had a mental dip, and I don’t think I rose to the occasion at that most crucial moment. You need a lot of mental energy, and I think I was already struggling a bit, partly because of the crash, and other reasons that affected me.”
Unfortunately, Checa began to develop a reputation for his continual failures to hold on to the lead of a race. A famous example of that came during the 2002 season, at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
After stalling on the grid, Checa muscled his way through the field until he was back in the lead, only to crash out of the race at the very next corner!
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