Checa heads the field after Day 1 of testing

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Indicated as one of the favourites at Phillip Island, Carlos Checa (Ducati Althea Racing) got down to business in the afternoon, setting the quickest time in the second session of WSBK testing. The Spaniard held the top slot for most of the two-hour 20 minute run, and his time of 1 minute 31.383s was enough to put him almost one second ahead of second-placed man Sylvain Guintoli (Effenbert - Liberty Racing Ducati). Third quickest today was Guintoli's team-mate in the Czech Republic team, Jakub Smrz, while another early front-runner Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) ran second for a while before dropping down to eighth.

After missing the first session, Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) finally got down to business, the reigning world champion wasting no time in setting the fourth quickest mark, albeit one second away from Checa. The Italian was a fraction ahead of Michel Fabrizio (Suzuki Alstare), while Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) and Marco Melandri (Yamaha) were not far behind in sixth and seventh.

In the final stages of the second session, several wild geese unexpectedly settled close to the track, causing the Race Direction to bring out the red flags three times, fearing they would be a danger to the riders.