[scatterbrained]

Spies Commits To Yamaha, Will Race In World Superbike In 2010, May Switch To MotoGP In 2011

Sep 04, 2009, ©Copyright 2009, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

From a press release issued by Yamaha:

Yamaha Motor Company., Ltd and Yamaha Motor Europe N.V. are delighted to announce that an agreement has been concluded with Ben Spies for his participation with Yamaha for 2010 and 2011. The program foresees a season in 2010 with the Yamaha World Superbike Team based in Gerno di Lesmo, Italy and a switch to Yamaha's satellite MotoGP team for 2011.

Laurens Klein Koerkamp, Racing Manager Yamaha Motor Europe said, "we got to know Ben this season in our Yamaha World Superbike Team as a very talented, professional and dedicated person with whom we are thrilled to continue working. Not only is the relationship between Ben, the team and Yamaha in general very successful but it's also a pleasure to work with him. This early agreement permits Yamaha and Ben Spies to now fully focus on their 2009 World Superbike campaign in their challenge to achieve their first World Superbike Championship titles together."

Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing added "we are truly excited about the prospect of Ben's arrival into our future MotoGP program. Ben is doing a great job for Yamaha in his first season in the World Superbike Championship. He is in great shape to challenge for the title this year and we will be rooting for him at the remaining four events this season. Ben's primary mission is to win both his and Yamaha's first World Superbike title. After that when Ben eventually makes the move to the MotoGP championship we will be ready for him and, in line with the new MotoGP regulations, we will create a place for him within the Yamaha satellite team and give him the support he needs for his next challenge."

"I am very happy to say that I will remain a part of the Yamaha family," said Ben Spies, "and that I will continue in the WSB series for 2010. This is an exciting period of my racing career and I look forward now even more. Yamaha has been great in the warm welcome that I have received entering the world arena and I want to thank them for all they have done, and for giving me their trust for a next career step into MotoGP in 2011."

This means obviously that Edwards will be keeping his seat and that Spies will definitely be on a YZR-M1 for 2011.

 

[jetblack]

I wonder if they'd give him a factory seat if Rossi retired after 2010?

 

[scatterbrained]

I wonder if they'd give him a factory seat if Rossi retired after 2010?

If I'm not mistaken the new "rookie rule" means he'll have to serve his rookie season on a satellite team.

 

[kneedeepinit]

If I'm not mistaken the new "rookie rule" means he'll have to serve his rookie season on a satellite team.

That's correct.

Additionally, I think Spies is making a mistake. He should be in MotoGP right now! Definitely by next season. There's no time to wait. Going to GPs as a rookie at age 26 or 27 is too late! One of the satellite Yamaha MotoGP teams wanted Spies next year. That would provide him with the perfect opportunity to jump to Rossi's seat later. Maybe the money wasn't there?

 

[PhilB]

That's correct.

Additionally, I think Spies is making a mistake. He should be in MotoGP right now! Definitely by next season. There's no time to wait. Going to GPs as a rookie at age 26 or 27 is too late! One of the satellite Yamaha MotoGP teams wanted Spies next year. That would provide him with the perfect opportunity to jump to Rossi's seat later. Maybe the money wasn't there?

He might be wanting to have a WSB championship before making the jump. This year it could happen, but if not he's very likely to get it next year. MotoGP, OTOH, he knows is still a different game, with a steep learning curve, and that he'll be a little while catching up.

Another possibility is that the "rookie rule" requires a certain number of MotoGP races before moving up, not a "season" specifically. Spies has already done a few as a wildcard with Suzuki, so if they can put him on a bike for nine MotoGP races next season, on the side, no pressure to perform, he qualifies as a "contracted ride" to skip the satellite and go right to the factory team in 2011. Or maybe they are planning to try to get the rookie rule dropped.

PhilB

 

[HiSpeed48]

i was looking forward to watching Spies take on Rossi, too bad.

 

[warsaw1776]

didnt read thewhole article but two thoughts popped into my head when i heard this.
1. spies is worried he wont win the championship this year and wants it.
2. yamaha doesnt want someone to possibly show up rossi and lorenzo yet.

rossi will be here on more year and will move to f1 or something. spies will start on the satellite team but sometime during the year he will move to the factory(which i thought i read somewhere is legal)

 

[SlayingElliott]

2. yamaha doesnt want someone to possibly show up rossi and lorenzo yet.

This statement is founded on what? WSB is much different than Motogp, I doubt yamaha is worried about spies.

 

[R1100S-Rider]

I wonder if they'd give him a factory seat if Rossi retired after 2010?

Isn't Rossi signed with Yamaha till the end of 2011? It'll be really interesting to see what happens when Rossi quits.

 

[warsaw1776]

This statement is founded on what? WSB is much different than Motogp, I doubt yamaha is worried about spies.

than why did they bother signing him?

 

[SlayingElliott]

than why did they bother signing him?

There's no doubt that he is a talented rider, but to say that he's going to show up Rossi or Lorenzo is for lack of a better word, foolish. Once he starts his season in Motogp we can measure him up against the two.

 

[R1100S-Rider]

Didn't Spies do a MotoGP race last season? Finished like 16th I think, most likely mistaken though.

 

[SlayingElliott]

Yes, hes raced in motogp before. But one race isn't much to base anything off of.

 

[OldSchlPunk]

Especially when that one ride was on the Suzuki.

Yamaha likes Spies, they like him a LOT. Tech3 would have made room for him in '10 if that's where Spies really wanted to be. That's how much Yamaha likes Spies.

Ben isn't a lock on the WSB title this year. Haga has a very good chance to win it yet. I really wouldn't mind seeing it either, much as I like Spies. Spies wants to wait until '11 just to make sure he can get at least 1 title (or as sure as he can be...) in WSB. In the mean time, maybe Yamaha can fund a wild card ride for several races next year so Ben would no longer be a rookie and could step right into the factory ride in '11 if Rossi would retire. A lotta if's.

Rossi is under contract for '10 only. There is a lot of speculation beyond that. F1, WRC, who knows. He has also said that if Lorenzo stayed at Yamaha, he'd stay another 5 years just to make Lorenzo's life miserable. Possibly just shit talk, who knows.

 

[kneedeepinit]

It seems like only a year ago... oh yeah, it was only a year ago.

He was a replacement rider for Capirossi on Suzuki at last year's British GP, and a wildcard entry for the USGPs at Laguna and Indy.

He qualified 8th and finished 14th at Donington, his first GP. He finished 8th at Laguna and 6th at Indy. Not bad for his first effort on a new bike, tires and team. The Suzuki GSV-R wasn't exactly a huge threat.

 

[PhilB]

Didn't Spies do a MotoGP race last season? Finished like 16th I think, most likely mistaken though.

He's done at least a couple. He was in the MotoGP at Laguna Seca last year; I saw him race. He placed pretty mid-pack, but then the Suzuki MotoGP bikes aren't at the sharp end of the field these days. I think he does have the capacity to do well in MotoGP, but it will be a learning curve. I don't think he will explode out of the box and contend for the championship immediately like he has in WSB.

And it may be as much Yamaha's doing. Perhaps the factory figures they've got a lock on the MotoGP championship this year, and probably next year as well, so Yamaha has a lot more to gain by keeping Spies in WSB and having a good chance of taking BOTH championship trophies back to the advertising department to play with.

PhilB

 

[kneedeepinit]

...I think he does have the capacity to do well in MotoGP, but it will be a learning curve. I don't think he will explode out of the box and contend for the championship immediately like he has in WSB.

...

PhilB

That's what most people said about his chances in WSB, too. :cheers

 

[PhilB]

That's what most people said about his chances in WSB, too. :cheers

Yes, but the difference between a MotoGP bike and a WSB bike is a lot b***** than the difference between a WSB bike and an AMA Superbike. And we've seen him run in MotoGP and he's done well, but not spectacularly. And WSB does not have anyone in it that is dominant like Rossi is (although he does have plenty of experience with that dynamic, with Mladin in AMA).

We'll see in a couple years.

PhilB

 

[kneedeepinit]

I know, I'm only saying most people on here and most motojournalist pundits felt that he'd need a couple years to learn the tracks and the bike and the tires and the team and the food, culture, travel, etc... before he would be a challenger for WSB championships.

Now, he's broken the all time Pole Position record in his first attempt at tracks he's mostly never seen before. He has 11 out of 20 victories so far.
Win or lose the championship, he's proven he can race there.

Given competitive machinery and a worthy crew, I think Ben's services would be better utilized in GP at the present time. More of a natural talent than Edwards or Hayden, IMHO.

 

[jetblack]

He's done at least a couple. He was in the MotoGP at Laguna Seca last year; I saw him race. He placed pretty mid-pack, but then the Suzuki MotoGP bikes aren't at the sharp end of the field these days. I think he does have the capacity to do well in MotoGP, but it will be a learning curve. I don't think he will explode out of the box and contend for the championship immediately like he has in WSB.

And it may be as much Yamaha's doing. Perhaps the factory figures they've got a lock on the MotoGP championship this year, and probably next year as well, so Yamaha has a lot more to gain by keeping Spies in WSB and having a good chance of taking BOTH championship trophies back to the advertising department to play with.

PhilB

We're all talking about Hayden after he finished 6th at Brno and 3rd in Indy, and he's on a factory Ducati that he's tested and raced for many months now. Spies rode a shitty Suzuki that he had little to no experience on, and finished 6th at one point. What could he do with a YZR-M1 after testing it for several months? My guess is a lot more than Hayden. It's a damn shame that he's staying in WSB another season.