WSBK » Spies: I can smell the lead now

bayliss.2006.valencia. if The Ben brings House with him, he'll do some damage in motogp.

Spies would run up front with Rossi and Lorenzo in MotoGP. After watching him now ever since his club days, i have no doubt.

For all of you MotoGP bullies, why then hasn't Biaggi, checha, or hopkins been able to match him on a Superbike?

There is nothing inherently inferior about the best WSBK riders versus the best MotoGP riders. Lately its just been that most of the best talent has been european and thus GP based. However, in the 80s thru the mid 90s just the opposite was the case. Schwantz, rainey, lawson etc all came thru Superbikes and dominated in GP.

You'll see Spies win at least 1 MotoGP championship, and probably more, before he's done. I have no doubt.

You can't compare the MotoGP Suzuki with the M1. So yes, Spies results in MotoGP were impressive and I'm pretty sure he can run at least top five, especially now he's used to a year of riding the R1 with the same firing order and characteristic as the M1. Yamaha must realize what a gem they have in their hands and the offers will come from all directions so the only thing they can do is give him what he wants, just like Honda is doing with Simoncelli. Never mind if they call it a satellite team, rest assured he will get good equipment.

bob,,,,,dovi crashed at assen so spies would have beaten him,,,well didnt spies crash at assen race 2 in the superbikes this year aswell????????
so in that case,i would have beaten spies on my push bike
stupid comment bob,and spinach,,i dont live under a bridge

First off Spies did a really stand up job in MotoGP last year. You don't just hop on a MotoGP and go faster than guys who have been testing and riding their bikes the whole year. Wildcards don't win in MotoGP (Bayliss was a factory Ducati MotoGP rider before so he had experience with the bike and crew).

And boy do you guys have short memories. Only in the last couple of years have a few superbike riders struggled. Maybe it's the electronics and/or move to 800s which I feel suits a 250 type style. The 80's and 90's in MotoGP where dominated by former Superbike guys. Did superbike guys forget how to ride? Of course not. con't

It just seems certain bike require certain styles. A lot of 250 guys struggled on 500s because it required a sideways style. Val was the only 250 champ to win in 500s in like over 30 years. Now it seems that sueprbke guys struggle on the 800s because it requires a different style.

But does that mean one is better then the other? No. It's just different requirements.

I think Spies will be good because he doesn't have that sideways superbike style. And unlike Edwards, Bayliss, Hayden,and Toseland he's always ridden a Superbike with all the electronics and TC so he doesn't have that superbike style that you have to unlearn in MotoGP.

If I were Yamaha, I would do what I had to financially to sew up a contract for at least another year in WSBK. They have MotoGP covered. They currently have WSBK under control, to an extent. Their BSB guys are good, their AMA guys are improving too. If they can keep Ben where he is, they will have a pretty good hand in motorcycle road racing.

I foresee Ben Spies in Repsol Honda colors in two years. Next to Dovi.

I don't want to see that scenario particularly, so by predicting it, perhaps it won't happen. I would prefer to see Ben stay put and maybe his competition will step up their game a bit.

And the 250s are going the way of the dinosaurs also.

@simon

At least get your facts right before commenting.
Simoncelli's fastest lap during testing at Valencia 1min 36.3sec

Ben Spies Superpole lap 1'33.270