It’s a fun corner for the riders, but you have to conserve the tire for the whole race. The next series of corners is my favorite, and it’s where I made the most time. In order to take on the MotoAmerica racing campaigns put forth by Yoshimura Suzuki and Graves Yamaha – the two giants in the American paddock – Spies will need a budget easily in excess of $1 million to be only equal footing with the two “factory” efforts. The single season 2009 WorldSBK championship phenomenon that is Ben Spies was back in the paddock at Misano – not unusual as he has family connections in the area, and spends time here each year.. There is a legion of Spies fans who are hungry to see “Elbowz” racing a motorcycle again…and another marriage with Ducati could be the perfect fit. Whether or not he can raise that sum of money for racing is a lofty of a goal for any team, especially in the struggling MotoAmerica championship, and then one still has to wonder about the condition of Spies’ shoulders, and whether they can withstand the punishment of road racing. Beaubier Earns Pole For WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Cameron Beaubier Headed To Moto2 World Championship, Part 1: Pre-Race Team Releases In Advance Of Laguna Round. https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/motoamerica-president-and-three-time-world-champion-wayne-rainey-says-were-here-to-stay/, “Everyone” wants an American to win a World Championship. The last American to be a conquering hero in a professional motorcycle road racing World Championship was Ben Spies, who famously won the World Superbike Championship in 2009, which was his…, Road Course Redux: A Lap Of Indy With Ben Spies, Rainey And Spies Comment On Gerloff’s World Superbike Podium Result, Double Championships: Landers Could Join Elite Company, Handlebar Memoirs: Tales Of Loose Clip-Ons, Roadracing World’s Story On Spies/MotoAmerica.
Despite his best efforts, Jensen is called one of the most influential bloggers in the motorcycle industry, and sometimes consults for motorcycle companies, whether they've solicited his expertise or not. We checked into it and discovered that the…, Ben Spies won three AMA Superbike Championships in a row, went overseas and won a World Superbike Championship in his first attempt, and then, he went on to have a successful, but injury-shortened MotoGP career, winning a race in the process. That right-left-right is one of the most important parts of the track. With 10 left-hand turns and 6 right-handers, the 2.621-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course fits neatly inside the famous 2.5-mile oval. MotoGP Preview of the Teruel GP: COVID-19 Concerns, & A Second Bite of the Cherry, BMW R18 Classic Debuts with Subtle Differences, Why the Repsol/Honda Partnership Isn’t Going Away Anytime Soon, Paddock Pass Podcast #169 – WorldSBK at Estoril, Ben Spies is trying to put together a superbike comeback, Cameron Beaubier Is Headed to the Moto2 Paddock for 2021 & 2022, Energica Remains as the MotoE Bike Supplier Thru 2022, Some Photos of MotoAmerica at the Ridge Motorsports Park, This Year’s Suzuka 8-Hours Has Been Canceled, New TT Style Event Coming to England at the Isle of Wight, Base Model KTM 890 Adventure Debuts for 2021 Model Year, Aprilia RS 660 Priced at $11,300 for the United States, Ducati V4 Granturismo Engine Debuts w/o Desmodromics. What Spies said in 2015 is still valuable today, so here again are his thoughts: Indy was a good track for me. It’s another one of those sections you don’t want to rush because your exit onto the front straightaway will suffer. Ben Spies won three AMA Superbike Championships in a row, went overseas and won a World Superbike Championship in his first attempt, and then, he went on to have a successful, but injury-shortened MotoGP career, winning a race in the process. There is a long road from here to there though, and the biggest hurdle for the American road racer is finding a ride. If you overshoot the first right by 2 meters, though, you’ll lose two-tenths of a second. For Spies to race in MotoAmerica with a competitive Ducati Panigale R race bike, the former World Superbike and AMA Pro Superbike champion would need significant financial backing, as Ducati Motor Holding in Italy, as well as Ducati North America, do not have the budgets to support a MotoAmerica racing effort. You just have to take your time. The layout is really flat, so you have to be comfortable with the bike moving around. Despite being forced out of top-line racing by injury, Spies dallied with the idea of coming back a couple of years ago. The better you can get off that corner, the less you need to bake the tire before you reach the spot that matters the most: the long left. MotoAmerica’s one and only previous visit to Indy occurred in August 2015 and, in order to familiarize our fans with the layout of the road course, we asked three-time AMA Superbike Champion, 2009 World Superbike Champ, and MotoGP race winner Ben Spies to give us a quick rundown on how to go fast around the circuit. Turn five is straightforward. I know I do, and I’ll bet you do, too. Getting off the back straightaway is fairly clear-cut, but the next right-hander has a weird double/triple apex. With 10 left-hand turns and 6 right-handers, the 2.621-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course fits neatly inside the famous 2.5-mile oval. Wayne Rainey wants an American to win a World Championship. With 10 left-hand turns and 6 right-handers, the 2.621-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course fits neatly inside the famous 2.5-mile oval. Here’s a link to that story.