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Spies lights up 2010 MotoGP opener
Ben Spies produced a dazzling performance in Qatar tonight to end a
stunning Monster Yamaha Tech 3 debut in fifth position. In an
enthralling 22-lap race under the Losail International Circuit
floodlights, Spies produced one of the performances of the evening to
storm through from 11th on the grid to a career best top five in only
his fifth MotoGP start.
Spies produced a thrilling first lap to gain four places and claim
seventh before he was elevated into the top six by a surprise mistake
from race leader Casey Stoner on lap six.
Pursuing fellow Yamaha YZR-M1 rider Jorge Lorenzo, Spies once again
demonstrated his devastating speed on worn tyres as he threatened to
haul himself into contention for the podium battle involving Nicky
Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso.
For several laps, Spies was the fastest man on track and he ended with
the fourth best time of 1.56.087 clocked on lap 17. Opting to settle for
fifth as a dramatic battle for the podium unfolded in front of him,
Spies finished just over two seconds off third position. And
impressively on only his second race for Yamaha, the reigning World
Superbike champion was less than four seconds away from race winner and
reigning world champion Valentino Rossi.
Fellow Texan Colin Edwards had a tough start to his eighth MotoGP
campaign but rode a determined race despite some minor rear grip issues.
Edwards guided his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 to eighth position
having brilliantly kept the hard-charging duo of Loris Capirossi and
Hiroshi Aoyama at bay.
Ben Spies - Position: 5th Time: +3.903
“I'm happy because I knew we had the bike and I knew I was riding
decent. Some things didn't go my way in qualifying and while it wasn't
really a smooth weekend, it came together in the race. I gave 110 per
cent every lap and that's all I can do and at the end I came out with a
decent result. They key was that I knew we had a good pace on race
tyres. I got a good start and I was quite aggressive in the first couple
of laps to try and make up some places and keep contact with the front
group. My confidence was growing in the middle of the race and I could
see Jorge and Valentino and those guys not a million miles in front of
me. I wasn't catching them a lot, but I knew for a few laps in the
middle of the race I was definitely the quickest out of the top five.
Maybe if I'd have qualified higher I might have been in that fight for
the podium at the end. But I can't be too greedy and this is a good
start for me and gives me a platform to build on for the rest of the
season.”
Colin Edwards - Position: 8th Time: +19.867
“Tonight wasn't really any surprise because I struggled all weekend
and I never seemed to get on top of the problems we had. We made the
bike a little better for the race and it was certainly more comfortable
to ride and that showed in the improved lap times, but it obviously
wasn't enough to get close to that top five. I rode my hardest but
tonight was one of the times when you're just riding around problems.
The front grip was great but I was lacking a bit on the rear and I
couldn't get a set-up that pushed the tyre on the ground. As soon I
accelerated the rear tyre would spin, but we actually found out some
things for the future that will help me. The Yamaha is obviously working
good when you look at the result and I want to congratulate Ben because
he did a great job. Hopefully next time out I'll be a bit closer to the
fight.”
Herve Poncharal - Team Manager
“Everybody was expecting great things from Ben this year and we
have to say already that he has shown what he is capable of tonight. We
were a bit disappointed when he was only 11th in qualifying but we knew
it would be better for the race because he was so strong on hard tyres
and we know this is a major strength of Ben's. And he is a racer who is
very aggressive and he made up a few places early on, which is always
crucial in MotoGP. His lap times were incredibly fast and was he closing
on the leading group for the whole race and this is a fantastic start
for Ben with the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team. It was a tough weekend for
Colin but he scored some valuable points and found out some interesting
information on the set-up of the bike that will help him for the future.
Overall it is a great team performance and we move to Japan now full of
confidence in what is a very important race for Yamaha.”
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