2012 Miller Motorsports Park World Superbikes Race One: Cool Heads Prevailed

On a dry race, nobody claimed the 200mph (320kmh) prize offered by the circuit, but not for a lack of trying: Three riders managed a 319.2kmh.

As we have seen so many times, Tom Sykes led the first few laps until Marco Melandri took the lead off him five laps in, followed by Carlos Checa. Seven laps in, Checa took to the front.

Melandri tried at the end to close the gap, but Checa managed his lead to the end. Max Biaggi fought a long battle with Jonathan Rea that provided a lot of the mid-pack entertainment, with Biaggi hounding Rea lap after lap with Biaggi closing the gap down the fast straight until he could make a pass stick. He held his position without making a mistake.

The battles ended with Checa winning ahead of Melandri and Biaggi beating Rea with level heads managing their positions. Even with a 20kmh top speed difference between the 4-cylinder bikes and the Ducatis, Checa's smooth sweeping through the corners more than made up for the lack of speed.

A few crashes, including John Hopkins, but no serious injuries or badly damaged bikes.

Not a hard race to predict and nobody would be surprised to see a Checa double. If they let him get away again, it's almost a certainty.

Results: