Ben Spies finished this week's
MotoGP tyre test at Indianapolis a close second fastest and - most importantly - having enjoyed extensive track time on the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R he will race at Laguna Seca on July 20 and the inaugural
Red Bull Indianapolis GP on September 14.
"That was a good two days of testing," said Spies, who finished 14th during a last-minute MotoGP debut replacing the injured
Loris Capirossi at
Donington Park.
"Since we were focused on tyres, we didn't make a lot of changes to the motorcycle. We found a good baseline and went out and turned laps. That's probably the most laps I've ever done in a two-day test session.
"I'm ready to take a rest for sure, but I really couldn't have asked for anything more from the test. The team was great to work with and Suzuki has given me a nice opportunity to do these MotoGP races."
Having been just 0.05secs slower than Ducati test rider Niccolo Canepa on day one, Spies held the fastest lap time for much of the final day of testing and was still on top when he left to catch a flight back to Dallas.
However, late in the day and with the track temperature cooling, Canepa edged 0.0843secs ahead of the American.
"Naturally I would have liked for my time to hold up as the fastest after I left, but that wasn't the main focus," said Spies. "I got what I needed and that was a lot of seat time on the GP bike.
"It takes a bit of getting used to how late you can brake and how early you can get on the gas with this motorcycle. I think I made a lot of strides in getting the feel for how the bike and tyres reacts under various situations. Hopefully that will pay dividends for me when we go to Laguna in a couple of weeks."
Spies provided
Bridgestone with a tremendous amount of data by turning more laps than any other rider at the test. Suzuki also felt they benefited from Spies' work ethic and were impressed by the precision of his riding after 205 incident-free laps.
