Ben Spies produced a fantastic performance during his
MotoGP qualifying debut, at a wet
Donington Park on Saturday, to claim eighth on the grid for the British Grand Prix.
The reigning double AMA Superbike champion had been 17th fastest in the dry on Friday, during his first ever laps on the 2008 Rizla Suzuki GSV-R - which he is riding in place of the injured
Loris Capirossi - then showed no fear of the treacherous Saturday weather by claiming tenth in morning practice.
The Texan's best qualifying lap of the afternoon, a 1min 40.244secs, was two seconds from
Casey Stoner's pole time and 1.2secs behind team-mate
Chris Vermeulen - but was enough to place Spies ahead of over half the regular grand prix field and he will start his first MotoGP race just ahead of title contender
Dani Pedrosa.
"I am pretty pleased with the result today, but I still want to be up front!" smiled the Texan. "I know I've got to take it step-by-step, but every session we are getting better and better again so things seem to be going good. If it's wet again tomorrow morning and the race is in the dry it's going to be pretty tough, but I think we will be able to cope with it, the crew are doing a real good job and I think everyone was pleased with how things went today. I'm pretty happy to get in the top ten at my first GP qualifying and I‘ve got to keep moving on from here."
"I think it is an amazing result today and a performance that he should be proud of!" praised team manager Paul Denning. "It doesn't matter what the conditions are and what the circumstances are, it's the same for everyone out there - he's gone quicker today than some of the world's very best riders on his first visit ever to Donington and his first time on a GP bike in the wet.
