Spies expects good form to continue
Added on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Spies expects good form to continue
Ben Spies has claimed that unfamiliarity with the Valencia circuit won’t pose a problem this weekend as he continues his superb start to his World Superbikes career.
The American has stolen the headlines in the championship so far after making the move from the AMA Superbikes Championship, securing three wins out of four races and the first ever double at the Losail Circuit in Qatar two weeks ago. Only a disappointing 16th position finish in race one at Phillip Island has meant the he lies second in the championship rankings, behind Noriyuki Haga.
The results have surprised many onlookers, with Spies having limited experience of any circuits outside of the USA and almost no experience whatsoever of many in the Far East but the three-time AMA Superbike winner believes that the performance of the new Yamaha R1 has more than made up for that lack of knowledge.
“I’m really looking forward to Valencia,” said Spies, “We’ve been having a couple of really strong weekends on the new bike and I’m feeling confident. We’re definitely in a good position for the season so far with more to go out and win.
“I’ve seen the Valencia circuit in the past and ridden a gentle 35 laps so I know my way round it a bit now. The way the 2009 YZF-R1 is working for me I think it should be a good track for us, it’s going to be hard to expect good results every weekend but we’ll keep trying and keep on pushing!
“It has to be said the bike has been awesome so far, the control and way it lays down its torque is amazing, I am loving riding it.
“Valencia is a different track to what we’ve ridden so far in Phillip Island and Qatar but I think we’ve got a good setup and it should work great here.”
Spies also paid tribute to the support of teammate Tom Sykes and the Yorkshireman is looking forward to being back in Europe and on slightly more familiar territory.
“I’m really looking forward to getting into European races,” he claimed. “I’ve tested at Valencia in previous years so I’ve had a start with the learning aspect of it.
“I’m feeling quite confident as I feel like I’ve got a good base setting on my R1. In Qatar we made little improvements here and there and as far as race distance is concerned the package works very consistently. Hopefully coming to Valencia we’ve put a few things together to make a nice improvement and we’ll be on it to win!”
