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MotoGP
MOTOGP: Spies Frustrated With Lingering Trapped Nerve
Ben Spies has the pace and the bike to be in serious contention for a hugely popular race win this weekend at Indianapolis. But will his body cooperate?
Yamaha Factory Racing's Ben Spies (Photo: Yamaha Racing)
If there was any single weekend American MotoGP star Ben Spies had circled on his calendar before the 2011 MotoGP World Championship season kicked off, it was almost certainly the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix.
His past Indy excellence basically cements that as fact.
Recall that while en route to his third consecutive AMA Superbike title in 2008, Spies raced at Indianapolis as a wild card aboard Suzuki's relatively unfancied GSV-R. He shocked observers by qualifying it fifth quick while Rizla Suzuki's full-time pilots, Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen, languished down in 13th and 15th, respectively.
The following day Spies braved the remnants of Hurricane Ike to register sixth-place run after dicing with established GP aces Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso in a performance that underlined his world-stage potential.
And last season as a MotoGP rookie with Tech3 Yamaha, Spies again demonstrated his Indianapolis Motor Speedway mastery, securing his first career pole and then coming home second in the race -- still as good as anyone has ever done on a satellite bike in the 800cc era.
Now gifted with factory equipment and a proven track record as a MotoGP race winner following his Assen breakthrough, Spies might just be viewed as the pre-race favorite this weekend, particularly following confirmation that his M1 has received an uprated engine spec that should help even the odds with the formidable HRC RC212Vs a bit.
However, Spies' ultimate potential is once again in question as the troublesome pinched nerve that hindered him two weeks back in Brno is still proving problematic.
Somehow the Texan gritted it out in the Czech Republic and notched up a fifth-place ride after previously believing even a race finish was beyond his reach. A similar gusty ride will likely be required at Indy, but the timing of the lingering issue couldn't be much worse with the possibility of a second-career MotoGP win otherwise realistic.
His past Indy excellence basically cements that as fact.
Recall that while en route to his third consecutive AMA Superbike title in 2008, Spies raced at Indianapolis as a wild card aboard Suzuki's relatively unfancied GSV-R. He shocked observers by qualifying it fifth quick while Rizla Suzuki's full-time pilots, Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen, languished down in 13th and 15th, respectively.
The following day Spies braved the remnants of Hurricane Ike to register sixth-place run after dicing with established GP aces Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso in a performance that underlined his world-stage potential.
And last season as a MotoGP rookie with Tech3 Yamaha, Spies again demonstrated his Indianapolis Motor Speedway mastery, securing his first career pole and then coming home second in the race -- still as good as anyone has ever done on a satellite bike in the 800cc era.
Now gifted with factory equipment and a proven track record as a MotoGP race winner following his Assen breakthrough, Spies might just be viewed as the pre-race favorite this weekend, particularly following confirmation that his M1 has received an uprated engine spec that should help even the odds with the formidable HRC RC212Vs a bit.
However, Spies' ultimate potential is once again in question as the troublesome pinched nerve that hindered him two weeks back in Brno is still proving problematic.
Somehow the Texan gritted it out in the Czech Republic and notched up a fifth-place ride after previously believing even a race finish was beyond his reach. A similar gusty ride will likely be required at Indy, but the timing of the lingering issue couldn't be much worse with the possibility of a second-career MotoGP win otherwise realistic.
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