David Checa says it’s time for ERC Endurance to be taken seriously after the German squad banked its breakthrough FIM Endurance World Championship podium in last weekend’s 24 Heures Motos.
Spaniard Checa, a four-time EWC champion, was speaking following the team’s capture of third place in the Le Mans season opener, which marked its EWC comeback after a year away and its return to BMW power following four seasons running Ducati motorcycles.
“I’ve been lucky enough to experience that since 2004 – my first time here, I nearly won, finishing second,” said Dunlop-equipped Spaniard Checa said. “Then, in 2005, I took the win. I had a dream debut where I was winning almost everything but then came a long dry spell – lots of podiums, but few victories at this track. Now, after 21 appearances at Le Mans and at 45 years old, standing on the podium again makes me incredibly proud and happy. Sharing this with my team-mates and with a team that, back when I joined them on Ducati, nobody really believed in – people laughed a bit and said they were doing things wrong. But, in the end, with that Ducati and Xavi Forés, we nearly won the Bol d’Or [in 2022].
“This year, the team switched to BMW, and in the very first race: a podium. I do feel a bit sad not to share this moment with Xavi as a rider – he’s here as team manager, but it’s not quite the same.”
Checa continued: “Honestly, I’m so happy for Uwe (Reinhardt, ERC Endurance owner) because he invest a lot during three years with me and Xavi. But I’m also happy for the team because every time they was really close to the podium and, at the end, we achieve. Maybe the position was not our place, but we had a luck with the conditions, we stayed on the wheels, we didn’t crash, we did a good job and the result is there.
“The bike is really good, we need to understand how best to manage that because in this winter we don’t test too much, but my team-mates Kenny (Foray) and Illya (Mykhalchyk) know the bike for more than five years and they help me a lot how to manage that. We did a lot together and the team improved a lot during the 24 hours because it’s completely new mechanics and new staff and it’s not simple.
“Endurance, for me, is a family and when you work as a family you are well and my scare was how would the connection between everybody be, but I’m so happy for that, it was perfect. We are in the base, we have to build the house and the roof, but this year we can build a really good house for next year to be more strong.”
Original Source [ FIM EWC ]
