SPIES TAKES WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD
First and Second in Germany for the Yamaha Ace
NÜRBURG, Germany (Sept. 6, 2009) – You might say it was a red-letter weekend for Ben Spies. The Texan having re-upped with Yamaha for two more years, he then hit the Nurburgring in Germany and came away with the lead in the World Superbike Championship. Overcoming a slow start early in the weekend Ben Spies charged back to win the first leg of the German round of the World Superbike Championship in a classic battle with rival Nori Haga. In the second leg Spies worked his way through to the front pack after a poor start and ended the day with second to Jonathan Rea. Spies’ 1-2 finishes, combined with a crash by Haga in the second race, means that Spies has taken an 18-point lead (364-346) in the championship standings.
Race one at the world-renowned Nurburgring was an instant classic. After a slew of pole positions and front row starts, Spies was starting from the second row for the first time this season. He immediately put his Yamaha R1 Superbike into third on the first lap and was looking for more. On lap five Spies made his pass on Rea and moved into second and immediately began chipping away at Haga’s lead. Haga matched Spies’ pace making it tough for the American to make inroads on his Japanese rival. On lap 11 of 20 Spies tucked into Haga’s draft and out-braked him going into the Esses to take over the lead. Haga kept the pressure on and the duo ran wheel to wheel until with two laps to go Spies made a strong surge to pull away and win by 3.85 seconds.
“I got caught up in a tough battle with Rea,” Spies explained of the early part of race one. “Then I used up my tires a bit reeling in Nori. He was tough in the first section of the track and that made it hard for me to get by and once I did I wasn’t able to shake him. I did my best on the other sections of the track to get a gap and fortunately I was able to click off some really good lap times to finish off the race.”
The final lap of the race was the fastest of the day for Spies. The victory was his 12th of the season, doubling the win tally of Haga and moving Spies to within two points of the series lead.
The second race did not get off to a good start for Spies.
“I didn’t get off the line well and then a bunch of guys came together in the first turn,” Spies explained. “Once everything settled I was able to start clicking in some good laps. The difference in the second race was that the track was cooler and everyone was turning in quick laps. Once I came to the front I found I didn’t quite have the rear grip that I needed to make a move on Jonathan. He was riding strong and I congratulate him on a great ride and win.”
Spies takes over the championship lead, this after having fallen to third, 88 points out of first just five rounds ago inSouth Africa.
“There were some pretty tough moments earlier in the season when I just couldn’t seem to string together good races,” Spies said. “I’m happy that my team has worked hard and helped me get back in a good position to fight for the championship. It’s great to have the series lead, but as we’ve seen this championship has a lot of ups and downs so I’m not taking anything for granted. It’s way too early to think about anything but doing what we’ve been doing all season. I’m going to the next round in Imola with the goal of winning.”
The last time an American led the World Superbike Championship was in 2002 when Colin Edwards won the title.
In the U.S. both legs of World Superbike from Germany will be shown back to back in primetime tonight (Sunday, Sept. 6) starting at 8:00 pm Eastern on SPEED.
Ben Spies is sponsored by Yamaha, HJC, Alpinestars, Specialized and Parts Europe. |
