Spies turning up the pressure on Haga
Added on Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Spies turning up the pressure on Haga
Ben Spies is looking to turn up the pressure on championship leader Noriyuki Haga this weekend as the World Superbikes championship heads into the final five rounds.
After the summer break, the rookie rider has managed to cut the gap behind Haga to just 14 points after a double victory at Donington Park four weeks ago and the American has vowed to keep up the pressure on the Ducati rider until the end of the season.
Haga is also likely to be carrying an injury into this weekend’s round in Brno and although Spies is heading to yet another new circuit, he is heading to the Czech Republic in confident mood.
“We had a good test at Imola last week so I’m in a confident mood,” said Spies. “Brno is yet again another new track for us so I’m really looking forward to running around the circuit this week and then getting out on the bike on Friday to get a feel for it.
“We only have ten races left now to the end of the championship so we need to make every one count. Everybody is going to be working hard to be up front this weekend so it’s going to be a tough race but I’m excited about it.”
His teammate Tom Sykes is another rider who will be riding at Brno for the first time this weekend but the Huddersfield-born rider, who is the only Brit yet to make the podium, is in confident mood after a strong performance at Imola.
“I’m really looking forward to showing some more of my recent pace,” said Sykes. “I’ve been getting faster and faster all year as we’ve resolved some issues with the set up and now I feel we’ve got a package I can use to challenge and stay with the front pack.
“I haven’t ridden Brno before but I think we can pick it up quickly on Friday and get cracking on the bike set up.”
