Along with Nicky Hayden in the last few days Ben Spies was the special guest of the Long Beach Motorcycle Show, a major American motorcycle shows. Present at the Yamaha booth where he received a welcome gift (a WR450F Supermoto made by former pilot, now a designer, Roland Sands), then the Superbike World Championship 2009 took part in a press conference where he expressed his positive for the 2011 season , his first official driver from Yamaha in MotoGP.

” Next year, I have no excuses: I have to win , “said Spies. “I have a season with assets of these bikes, tires, tracks, know the category and is the first time in the last 3 years that I have to change and start from scratch. I will run as a pilot officer and I have a whole business behind me, this I am very happy.

In the first test in Valencia I could touch the difference compared to 2010: is there a more methodical approach in development work, the bike is better in all aspects even though it is not very different from what I have driven this’ year.

For me the goal is to improve the results of last year, even if they are in a position to win, I have everything to succeed. The moment to remember the 2010? Surely Indianapolis, a great weekend to begin by the unexpected pole position . ”

The man to beat for next season? Jorge Lorenzo of course … ” And ‘the world champion and is now the strongest. There are 16-17 riders at the highest level, but he remains the benchmark, not only because it’s my new teammate. The relationship with him is good and I think we work well together, as had happened in the past (the reference is to Mat Mladin, ed) .

Found on the podium at Motegi and the victory at Sepang, Valentino Rossi has encountered more problems than expected this weekend at Phillip Island. At the end of formal qualifications obtained where only the eighth time is the third row are two aspects that have prevented the 9-time World Champion to do better.

First one still not optimal balance of his Yamaha YZR-M1 with a set up far from defined “optimal.” Secondly traffic and a series of unfortunate events that allowed him to improve on the grid for tomorrow looked forward to a tough race on paper.

“Today I was really unlucky, “said Valentino Rossi. “With the two softer tires to do the time I’m getting a good grid position. Before I met in trajectory Espargaro and Hayden, then it started raining and so I was unable to improve.

Start from the third row and will be a tough race, especially because we have not found a good race pace and we must work more on set-up. This evening and tomorrow morning we will try to find a solution to improve and have a good race.

The weather not only the ideal, this is a real shame because the track is fantastic and this cold you can not drive at its best, it takes several laps to send the tires up to temperature. I expect a very tough race, but we’ll see what we can do. “

After 13 races without getting on the top step of the podium in Australia found victory in the first MotoGP race on the new facility “Motorland Aragon” Alcaniz, breaking his personal failures longest streak of his career when, in 2007, World Champion and star of absolute top class. The Ducatista, fiance of HRC for the next two years, gave substance to a race … its: great start, just an exhilarating pace and final escape. Even Dani Pedrosa was unable to reach him, undertook to recover after a difficult start (he found himself 5th), markedly lower in the final when his handicap has risen from 1 “3 to 4″ (power management or the outcome?) .

Stoner’s victory is also to Ducati, waiting for Valentino Rossi (his worst result of the season, sixth at 27 seconds from the top …) consoles herself with two riders on the podium for Nicky Hayden was “invented” a great overtaking down ‘latest variation on Jorge Lorenzo: 1-3 Ducati for the first time there is a Yamaha on the podium at 2010. There is especially Lorenzo, fourth after the sequence of 13 consecutive podiums while remaining largely leader with 56 points ahead of Pedrosa with only five races remaining.

Household Diapason Three small consolation in the thought in perspective, because Ben Spies has been protagonist of a great race winning the duel for fifth place where he is self-excluded Andrea Dovizioso, slipped on the final lap, opening the doors to Valentino Rossi for the sixth position. To judge the race by 9 times World Champion just consider the postings by rivals: 27 “from the top, 18″ by Lorenzo, 13 “by Spies. We need one or more explanations.

Behind Rossi Marco Simoncelli finished seventh ahead of Alvaro Bautista and Marco Melandri, all the top ten, far away from Ducati and Casey Stoner back from finally protagonists as the golden age. Too late or just in time to play the role of “referee” of the world?

Recovered with interest the success of failure of last year. Pedrosa dominates at Indianapolis centering the 3rd win of the season and 34th career MotoGP (11 of them in MotoGP), putting into practice his favorite among race strategies : the escape. Fourth after the first round, three-time World Champion has passed sequentially Hayden, Dovizioso and especially Ben Spies, a leader in the first seven laps later, giving the pole position yesterday. Since that time the road was inevitably downhill, with a wheelbase of reach for anyone not a matter of 2-3 tenths as shown by the evidence, but a “net at will, when necessary, when necessary. Couple as an important victory in sight last part of the championship, which could put it mildly for the championship (68 points are to be recovered), but portends a different for the 2011 Honda is finally following a path (which is one. .) development of the RC212V less dancing than usual, as only tamed Dani Pedrosa was unable to do in recent years.

America is called “runner up”, the second good, and today was definitely Ben Spies on the podium again after Silverstone, but this time after a weekend protagonist with the pole on Saturday and a valuable 2nd place in race . With the Tech 3 Yamaha team with technical updates of nature “motor” from Laguna Seca, a track like Indy, where he finished the 6th even with Suzuki in 2008, the Superbike World Championship in office did not miss the call using favorable opportunity to celebrate the best promotion to the official team for 2011.

A performance that could be a warning bell for Jorge Lorenzo, but the safety, speed and talent of the leader of the world does not pose any concerns, just think that today’s third place was his worst result of the season … down from the podium Valentino Rossi, 4th salvage in a weekend by three falls in four practice sessions (two days), paying duty against Lawrence, but also of Spies. Misano 7 days between the time comes to take stock of the situation to understand what is wrong if only compared to races like the Sachsenring and Laguna Seca.

There is the desire of the nine times world champion to fight for the top positions even in these his last adventure races for Yamaha before moving to Ducati Nicky Hayden in sixth place behind Andrea Dovizioso (15 “by the accused teammate Pedrosa) and Casey Stoner crashed in the early laps when he had his own “heir” with the Desmosedici for 2011.

If the 7th Marco Simoncelli resists attacks with a surprising Alvaro Bautista Suzuki Loris Capirossi has not gone beyond the eleventh place. On the ground Marco Melandri, only 13 riders at the finish line including the returning Hiroshi Aoyama preceded Randy De Puniet, returned in Misano Adriatico in 5 days where there will be time to recover from ailments, even for Dani Pedrosa to celebrate a success without discussions.

Chronicle of Race

Spies has an excellent behind the 2nd pass Dovizioso on Hayden, Pedrosa, Lorenzo and Rossi, Stoner badly as much as 9 °. Nothing changes in the first round, wait overtaking Pedrosa Hayden at the damage curve 10 which is the third position in pursuit of Spies and Dovizioso who have already taken a few meters ahead. Intermediate phase of stroke to “warm up” the tires on the third lap Lorenzo’s passing Hayden, Pedrosa takes second position with the fastest lap in 1’41 “406, Melandri finds himself on the ground in an attempt to Stoner to resist the 7th square bitterly closing its 200th Grand Prix in MotoGP.

Skip a few laps before you see the race enlivened somewhat by passing Stoner Rossi Hayden rejoining except fall near the seventh lap ending in zero from the first race at Le Mans this part. Virtually the same time Pedrosa exploits the wake of Ben Spies and sets the command, following a step-by-race with frightening 1’40 “8 eleventh round, a” better than everyone, including Jorge Lorenzo which bypasses Dovizioso for third place.

He stops in the pits to a technical problem Colin Edwards, his teammate Ben Spies takes the comparison distance with Jorge Lorenzo view and does not seem to have trouble keep the second place: much more complicated the work of Andrea Dovizioso now also approached Valentino Rossi.

Towards the final rush falls Mika Kallio when he was in 9th place near Bautista and Simoncelli, there are more changes with Dani Pedrosa wins by dominating Ben Spies, Jorge Lorenzo was third followed by Valentino Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso, Nicky Hayden and Marco Simoncelli. Appreciable eighth Alvaro Bautista with Suzuki, Loris Capirossi only better than 11 percent.

MotoGP World Championship 2010
Indianapolis Race Standings

01 – Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC212V – 28 laps in 47’31 .615
02 – Ben Spies – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – 3575 +
03 – Jorge Lorenzo – Fiat Yamaha Team – Yamaha YZR M1 – 6812 +
04 – Valentino Rossi – Fiat Yamaha Team – Yamaha YZR M1 – 12,633 +
05 – Andrea Dovizioso – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC212V – 21,885 +
06 – Nicky Hayden – Ducati Marlboro Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP10 – 35,138 +
07 – Marco Simoncelli – San Carlo Honda Gresini – Honda RC212V – 36,740 +
08 – Alvaro Bautista – Rizla Suzuki – Suzuki GSV-R – 36,825 +
09 – Aleix Espargaro – Pramac Racing Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP10 – 44,905 +
10 – Hector Barbera – Paginas Amarillas Aspar – Ducati Desmosedici GP10 – 51,368 +
11 – Loris Capirossi – Rizla Suzuki – Suzuki GSV-R – 55,386 +
12 – Hiroshi Aoyama – Interwetten Honda – Honda RC212V – 57,903 +
13 – Randy De Puniet – LCR Honda – Honda RC212V – 1’04 .139 +

Waiting to find official confirmation from Ducati for 2011, Nicky Hayden is ready for the Grand Prix Czech Republic Brno circuit on a track he likes, where he hopes to achieve a good result and to find indications Monday in the positive test day dedicated to the MotoGP teams.

“It ‘nice to come back after two weeks of vacation and Brno is a beautiful track where again, “says Hayden. “I think like all the drivers because it’s fast, open and very smooth, very different from the last track where we raced, Sachsenring and Laguna, both very narrow and very curved from the second.

Opened the second half of the season in which, after a series of good results, we take another step forward. It is not easy with the level of competitiveness that has achieved this season but I think we should always try to progress.

After the race there is a test day that I hope will give us the ability to work well for a second part of the growing season.