Spies flies to victory at Assen
Added on Saturday, June 25th, 2011 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
Spies flies to victory at Assen
Ben Spies became the fourth different MotoGP race winner this season at Assen this afternoon, after storming to his first premier class victory.
In a race marred by chaos for his rivals, Spies was able to slip through into the lead on the opening lap, stealing the privilege from initial leader Jorge Lorenzo.
After sneaking into the lead as the race began, Lorenzo soon lost out when Spies launched passed into control of the race. Shortly afterwards Lorenzo suffered a challenging fate, when a collision with pole man Marco Simoncelli left them both at the back of the field. As Simoncelli corrected a small wobble, Lorenzo was collected, as they both fell to the side of the track.
At the opposite end of the spectrum Lorenzo’s Yamaha teammate Spies was relishing in his good form, as he gradually edged away from second placed man Casey Stoner. Stoner spent the entire twenty-six laps pursued by his Repsol Honda teammate Andrea Dovizioso.
After starting further down the grid, Valentino Rossi muscled his way through the pack to fourth place by the chequered flag. The Ducati rider completed the race in a lonely position, despite gradually closing on third placed Dovizioso as the race progressed.
Earlier on Brit Cal Crutchlow had put his woes of the previous race behind him. Despite suffering a shattered collarbone just two weeks ago at Silverstone, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider was very much a force to be reckoned with until an apparent mechanical issue forced a pit stop. After two laps reviewing the problem, Crutchlow rejoined the race, albeit at the back, but still put in a storming ride in the closing stages.
As Rossi left the chasing pack behind, things soon began to hot up for fifth place. His Ducati teammate Nicky Hayden enjoyed a fierce tussle with fellow countryman Colin Edwards, with Hayden taking the advantage.
After a commanding ride through the field, Lorenzo worked his way back to sixth place, unable to catch Hayden by the chequered flag. Edwards crossed the line in seventh, ahead of Hiroshi Aoyama in eighth. After his first lap drama, SImoncelli managed to score a top ten finish in ninth place, with the remaining top ten spot going the way of Toni Elias.
After a number of incidents throughout the race only four more riders took the chequered flag. Alvaro Bautista was the first of these riders in eleventh place, ahead of Hector Barbera, Kousuke Akiyoshi and Crutchlow. Randy De Puniet and Karel Abraham were forced to retire after suffering incidents earlier on,whilst Loris Capirossi was unable to take part after suffering injury during qualifying.
So Spies gave Yamaha a fitting end to their 50th anniversary with his first MotoGP victory, with the team also marking the occasion with a special one-off livery. Stoner has retained his lead in the championship standings, also completing his record of finishing on the podium in each race he has finished this season. The Australian rider now has 136 points, ahead of second placed Lorenzo with 108 and third placed Dovizioso with 99 points.
The next race is just one week away, with the Mugello circuit playing host to round eight of the championship, and no doubt Stoner will be keen to continue his dominating ways.
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