I am simply amazed by Ben Spies' rookie season in World Superbike. The whole thing has been so incredible, from his mind-blowing racing results, to his theatric transition into MotoGP in a couple weeks. Ben Spies' rookie World Superbike Championship is too remarkable to not comment. I invite you to do it in this thread. Me first: Rarely in sport has there been such a performance of measured mastery by a rookie. In the stick and ball sports, I think of Joe Montana and Tom Brady when they stepped up to the show for the first time. I think of Pedro Martinez and Sandy Koufax. I think of Tiger Woods his first season on tour. Such a performance in motorsports is even more rare. I struggle to recall the names of racers who have made such an impact so suddenly. Perhaps Juan Fangio or Ayrton Senna. Maybe Jeff Gordon. In motorcycle racing I can only think of Kenny Roberts, and well...Valentino Rossi himself. Perhaps it is premature to celebrate his place in history, but November 8 we are going to get an equally remarkable glimpse of how he stacks up among the very best of our times. I am confident that Ben Spies will be a force. We are lucky to witness these golden days of motorcycle racing. -P
As soon as he had signed for Yamaha I had predicted that he would be the champion in his first year. He's impervious to mind games, cool and calculating and he tends to focus on getting a set up that will work for race distance. These traits will help him when he gets to GP. He also is smart in knowing that if you cannot win then take the best position you can while aiming for a championship. Brilliant job by Spies, a never give up attitude help him through the bad situations and showed his competitors that he's always a threat to win.
Fabulous job by a truly focused individual. I was wondering if his set up was off for the 2nd race or if he was just playing it safe. Too bad he's too big for the GP bikes!
He's definitely a top talent. He perfected his skills battling Mladin and came to pretty much equal footing with him. He won a rookie season world title on tracks mostly unfamiliar to him - no small feat in itself. Still, I had mixed feelings through both races. Haga has been so close so many times I was pulling for him. He would have deserved this title had he taken it. On the other hand, I wanted to see Spies win the title as a rookie AND THEN transition to the GP team where there would suddenly be two team mates with WSBK titles from the same part of Texas. The cool factor in that is immense And I think that both Spies and Edwards are secure enough in themselves that they will be good team mates. They both bring good development skills to the table as well as their own unique styles on and off track. I'll be tuning in again next season for what should be some great racing in Moto GP and WSBK again as well.
Nitpick: why was Doug Polen not considered a rookie when he took the WSB title in 1991? I can't find his name anywhere in the participants list for 1990.
I'm glad Spies took the championship, as it's well deserved after what he accomplished in his rookie year of wsbk. I'm doubly glad I was there in Salt Lake to see his talent up close. Watching him smoothly ride to a convincing double over some pretty good competition left me in no doubt of his talent. Looking forward to his next step up the ladder, and wishing him the best of luck. Go Ben. Go Colin. Team Texas.
It's truly fantastic. I've always been a Haga fan, but didn't think twice about rooting for Spies this year, he's always impressed me not just as a rider but also as a sportsman. Perhaps the best part about the year has been both his and Nori's honorable conduct throughout. Really fantastic and I think he can be near the front in MGP right from the get go. Not sure he'll be with the "aliens", but Top 8 for sure and Top 5 as frequently as possible. CEII has proved the machinery he's on is as good as the Satellite stuff gets. Glad he's with Yamaha, they seem to treat their athletes the best in the long term (perhaps along with Ducati), I hope he has a long career there. It'll be fun to watch!
Well I mean, after I found out his secret to winning, it was only obvious that he was destined to win. lmao http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiVCbMlXxNM&feature=player_embedded Sorry I can't embed the vid at work.
My first thought is you picked a crappy title for a thread. Kind of a spoiler isn't it? But yeah, good show Ben. Too bad he won't be around to defend it but I don't blame him for that. The competition next year in WSBK will be fierce even without him.
+1 I won a bet as well...a Freddo Frog (a small chocolate frog). It was a big weekend for me..I had a bet with a mate, he chose Lorenzo and Haga, I chose Stoner/Rossi and Spies. So I have two Freddo's coming my way!!! I was somewhat disappointed in the last two races...I really wanted a good head to head confrontation between the two protagonists. Haga showed some class in the second race. We certainly know there are no Team orders in the Ducati garage. If Mr Fab had let Haga win a race recently that would have been a 15 point margin coming into this race and if he had let him through Haga would have won the title by 4 points. Having said that who really would want to win a World Championship by having your team mate gift you points...this is not F1.
Kind of? I've got the race tivo'd and have not yet watched it. Nice thread title. Thanks for that. Not.
Sorry about the spoiler. I didn't even think about it because my notion for this thread came after Speed's broadcast. I apologize for my insensitivity.
Good on him! Kid done REAL good! Just as Mat Mladin said he'd win it this year. And apart from a cupla mishaps that were out of his control, he'd have won it waaay earlier, once again as Mat predicted. Good stuff, I'll be looking forward to his future unfolding. On that point,'the Texas windbag', in our hour of post race entertainment at Phillip Island was keen to point out that his new team mate is going to find it quite difficult, given the limited testing available now. Time will tell.....
I dunno, he is too big to win. His mother gets in the way of accomplishment. He can't travel well, and will find it hard to adapt to the Euro race life. He was lucky to beat Matt in those championships. To all you prognosticators of doom for Ben. Nah Na Nah Na Nah Nah! Great focus kid! Next...........
That's why I never ever go to any racing sites on race day before I watch the race myself, somebody always feels the need to ignore common courtesy and put results in their thread titles, which is a great way to have your day ruined. It's so much more fun to watch a race when you know the results (not).
+25 - How many times have posting rules pointed out not to post results in a thread title. 20 lashes! :ddog