| Author | Message | ||
     Vagelis46 |
Lets hope that Suzuki scores a win, to stop this Haga-Spies show !!! Even better....go Aprilia !!! | ||
| Firstbuell |
yeah, Baby go RSV4 !! | ||
| Jaimec |
Spies takes his FIFTH consecutive Superpole. Showing his supreme confidence, he used the first two rounds to continue tuning and setting up the bike, knowing he could go just fast enough on the race tires to make the next round each time. For the final round he finally put on a qualifier and SMOKED the circuit, breaking Troy Bayliss' record for qualifying in the process. Let's just hope he gets a good start tomorrow, puts the hammer down, and takes two wins to close the gap to Haga! GO ELBOWZ!!! | ||
| Jaimec |
Once again, Ben experienced the highs and lows of racing in a single day. In Race 1, after running a brilliant battle against Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga, he ran out of fuel about 100 yards from the finish line. He managed to limp across the line in 15th. Fabrizio won his first race ever, with Haga taking second. In the second race, Ben was wiser with his fuel usage and opened up a huge gap midway through the race. For the final few laps, he kept it steady and consistent and easily won with over two seconds ahead of Michel Fabrizio. In race two, it was Haga who experienced the "lows." Reports are, he was hit by a bird on his arm, and he lost all feeling in it. He tried to continue on, but had trouble controlling the bike. Eventually, he lost control altogether and crashed out, getting his first DNF of the season. Ben tightened the gap by six points. Next is Kyalami, and then Ben's "Home Race" at Miller! | ||
| Jaimec |
Spies takes his SIXTH consecutive Superpole in Kyalama by .001 second over Fabrizio! He is now tied with Doug Polen (set 18 years ago) with most consecutive superpoles in WSBK. His old rival Mat Mladin just took his fifth consecutive AMA Superpole. Which one will blink first? Should be some exciting racing tomorrow. | ||
| Jaimec |
****!!!!! Put a fork in it, Ben's season is done. The title is Haga's for the taking. Yamaha has to take a good long look at that bike of theirs and make it a bit more reliable for it to be a contender. | ||
| Smoke |
not over til its over Jaimec. all it takes is Haga to have some of the luck that the Ben is having. however, if this sh1t keeps up Ben will be out of it all the way. Go Ben, you can do it!! tim | ||
| Jaimec |
There's always Miller at the end of the month. Ben has NO excuses on that track. Could be a "make or break" round for him in the series. If he doesn't "double," I think it's Haga's season. | ||
| Firstbuell |
enough about Ben? -  I'm really enjoying Haslam as well -  look closely - that's his throttle hand on the other guy's fairing nose..... | ||
| Blublak |
Yeah, he was getting push back to the pits since he ran out of fuel.. For those that may have thought it was some sort of ultra cool passing dis.. or some such.. | ||
| Jaimec |
This weekend at Miller! Sure wish I could be there in person!! Spies, Zemke and Hacking! Oughtta be GOOD! | ||
| 12bolt |
I'll be at Miller, riding down from Spokane Wa to watch the races with friends. Bummed that the AMA backed out though! I was really looking forward to watching a Buell take podium. Oh well its still going to be a great weekend! | ||
| Jaimec |
I have ONE stupid question to throw out here: ...If Kawasaki can tap Jamie Hacking to substitute for an injured Makato Tamada at Miller, why on EARTH wouldn't Suzuki want to tap the most successful production-based racer on the planet for an injured Max Neukirchner?? Instead they tap Fonsi Nieto?? WHY?? If you want to beat Ben Spies on his home circuit, wouldn't it make sense to hire the one man who's beaten him more times than anyone else?? I don't get it. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Maybe they asked Mladin and he declined or his contract wouldn't allow it? I had the same thought...that would have been very cool. BTW, don't expect Hacking to do much based on his recent Superbike/MotoGP results. Some guys are just suited for the 600s. | ||
| Hooligan620 |
Headed to Miller from Seattle tomorrow. Sad we won't be seeing the Buells but Superbike and Supersport should be fun! | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Lets hope that after Miller's races, Spies will have a title chance. | ||
| Jaimec |
Even if Haga wins it all, I'd like it to be CLOSE and not a runaway. GO ELBOWZ!! | ||
| Jaimec |
SPIES!!! The season ain't over yet!! Look out for the "Texan Terror!" | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I hope the rumors are true and Edwards joins Aprilia next year. He will not be missed in GP but he will make a huge impact in WSBK, exactly like Bayliss | ||
| Blublak |
He already made a huge impact in WSBK.. But, I suppose he could go back and try to do it again.. hehehehehehe.. The battle of the Texans.. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Aprilia could win races and perhaps the WSBK title with a great rider on board. I wish Edwards joins them | ||
| Crusty |
Jamie Hacking made a strong Impression with his ride at Miller. Unfortunately, it wasn't a good one. I guess he was showing that he also subscribed to the Dani Pedrosa school of racing. Twice, he had contact with his Team mates, then he finally ran off the track without endangering anybody else. I don't think he'll be getting many SBK offers. | ||
| Jaimec |
Maybe Alberto Puig will want him on the Repsol MotoGP team? | ||
| Jaimec |
Just one more observation from this past Sunday. Last year, when either Spies or Mladin pulled a 9 second (or more) gap on the rest of the field they were accused of having an unfair advantage. I think we now know what that advantage was: TALENT AND SKILL. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Having the best hardware didn't hurt their cause, did it? Likely the results would have been the same, but they wouldn't have runaway from the field in two laps. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
After watching race 1&2 in Misano, I am sure : 1. Ben Spies is GP class, propably equal to Stoner, Pedrosa, Lorenzo..... 2. He is the biggest fighter in moto racing at the moment. The kid has balls, and I like that he gets angry and pissed. He might be the answer to Rossi, as far as riding aggression. 3. BUT, he is really wild and "heavy duty" on the Yamaha, since Sykes has no relibility - fuel issues . 4. Ben Spies is now my No1 favourite rider. But I still think this title should go to the great Nori Haga. I hope he joins Ducati in motoGP.......He has the balls to try when the others (Simonceli) would not...... | ||
| Jaimec |
I think Ben will stick around WSBK for at least one more season, though if Poncheral decides to give Toseland his walking papers at the end of the season I'm sure he'd LOVE to snatch up Ben for his Tech3 squad. TWO Texans on the same team? Woo hoo! | ||
| Alessio66xb12r |
Simoncelli not Simonceli... and YES , Spies is the real n.1 of this season in W.SuperBike. he did a great race and greater considering it was the first time he saw Misano in his life...a TV journalist said he lost the way to the circuit few crossroads outside the track gate... Aprilia , i think, is showing to be a fast and power full bike ....not the same is doing Biaggi | ||
| Trojan |
I hope he joins Ducati in motoGP.......He has the balls to try when the others (Simonceli) would not...... That could spell the end of his MotoGP career before it started! Much as I admire Ben Spies, race two was much more exciting without him in the mix, and it is great to see Jonny Rea coming to the front now that Ten Kate have sorted their suspension problems out. In fact it was a great weekend for the Brits all round, with Shakey getting 2nd in race one after a long gamble on wet tyres and a Brit 1-2 in Supersport (again) with Crutchlow and Laverty. The Laverty family are becoming a bit of a global racing franchise these days, with Eugene on the podium in WSS, Michael on the podium in AMA and John grabbing a well earned 5th place in British Superbikes at the weekend  I think Ben will stick around WSBK for at least one more season, though if Poncheral decides to give Toseland his walking papers at the end of the season I'm sure he'd LOVE to snatch up Ben for his Tech3 squad. TWO Texans on the same team? Woo hoo I very much doubt that Edwards (or Toseland) will still be at Yamaha next year. He was only retained this year at the last moment when Yamaha agreed to pay his wages direct from the factory, otherwise he would have gone already. He qualifies well and invariably leads the times in testing, but this still doesn't seem to convert to race results. He has the nickname of 'Winter World Champion' in the paddock, and I can't see Poncheral keeping him for another year when there are so many up and coming riders leaving the 250 class at the end of this year (and who cannot join factory squads under the new rules). Simoncelli is pretty much confirmed at Gresini next year (with HRC backing), and with the end of the 250 class I think that teams will be scrabbling to sign Bautista, Aoyoma, Pasini, Luthi, Barbera etc, who won't want to hang around in the new Moto2 600 class. | ||
| Jaimec |
Edwards is right now the highest ranked non-factory rider so if I had to choose between the two... bye bye James! But as we've seen SO many times before, success in Superbike doesn't necessarily translate to success in MotoGP... especially with these 800s. The 990s seemed to be much more conducive to a superbike-style rider. |
