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Chris Martin
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MOTOGP: Spies Matches His (GP) Number on Friday
Written by: Chris Martin   
07/18/2008 - 06:41 PM
Monterey, CA
 
Rizla Suzuki wild card rider Ben Spies (Photo: Suzuki Racing) ยป More Photos

Rizla Suzuki wild card rider Ben Spies put together a solid opening day in MotoGP competition at Laguna Seca on Friday. The Texan was firmly in the top ten most of the afternoon session before getting pushed just outside in the session's waning moments to finish the day ranked 11th with a best lap of 1:23.244, the same position he ended the morning session.

Spies' AMA Superbike compatriot, Jamie Hacking, had a tougher go of things in the afternoon, jumping up the charts early but then finding it impossible to improve his time until his final circulation, nearly twenty laps later. Hacking's fastest lap in the afternoon was a 1:24.371, short of the 1:24.050 he put in during the morning session to rank 12th.

While the factory Kawasaki substitute ended his first day as a MotoGP pilot in 18th position,
he did manage to outpace his temporary teammate, fulltime Kawasaki Racing Team rider Anthony West, both times out.

Former MotoGP and AMA Superbike Champion Nicky Hayden, a two-time winner of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca, finished the day second quickest overall by ripping off a 1:22.634 on his final lap of the free session. Meanwhile, former AMA 250GP and World Superbike king Colin Edwards was seventh fastest on the day at 1:23.077.

As at the prior three Grands Prix, no rider could even consider touching reigning MotoGP champ Casey Stoner, who already circulated under the lap record this morning and continued to lower his times this afternoon. The Ducati star ended the day with an incredible 1:21.826, over eight tenths of a second faster than anyone else in the field.
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