Checa expects to maintain form in race

The LCR Honda rider will start third at Le Mans, having held provisional pole until Colin Edwards and Casey Stoner moved ahead on their final runs.

The result is Checa's second front row start of the year, but since qualifying third at Jerez he had struggled in qualifying for the Turkish and Chinese races, where he only managed 16th and 13th on the grid.

Checa put his improvement down to both Le Mans suiting the Honda bike, and changes that the LCR team had made after Shanghai.

"We know we lack a bit of power, but here it's less noticeable," he told Italia1 television.

"We are satisfied with the work done throughout the weekend. We've been doing quite well, especially in qualifying: after being unable to be quick in qualifying (in Turkey and China) we've changed some things here and it worked.

"We have the right rhythm, so the important thing is to start well tomorrow.

"I think we can stay with the best because we have the pace of the best. So let's hope we'll get a good result tomorrow."

The Spaniard is particularly confident about the performance of his Michelin race tyres.

"We have a race tyre that works very well: it allows me to go quick from lap one to lap 28," Checa said.

"It takes a few laps to warm up, but after that it works perfectly.

"They say it might rain tomorrow, but if the weather stays as it is we should be sorted."