Written by:
SPEED Staff
SPEEDtv.com
07/02/2008
Indianapolis, IN
Three-time AMA Superbike champion Ben Spies (Photo: Suzuki Racing)
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Ben Spies walked away from this week’s MotoGP tire test session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway feeling very positive about the opportunity to gain valuable seat time on the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R. He also enjoyed getting to know the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2.62-mile road course. The Suzuki test squad was thrilled with the effort Spies put into the test and were impressed by the precision of his riding after putting in 205 incident-free laps in two days.
Spies held the fastest lap time on the final day of testing Wednesday, with a 1:43.091, when he left to catch a flight back to Dallas. Late in the day, with track temperature cooling, Ducati test rider Niccolo Canepa, of Italy, turned the fast lap of the test with a time of 1:43.006, slightly improving on Spies’ time.
“That was a good two days of testing,” Spies said. “Since we were focused on tires, we didn’t make a lot of changes to the motorcycle. We found a good baseline and went out and turned laps. That’s probably the most laps I’ve ever done in a two-day test session.
"I’m ready to take a rest for sure, but I really couldn’t have asked for anything more from the test. The team was great to work with and Suzuki has given me a nice opportunity to do these MotoGP races.”
“Naturally I would have liked for my time to hold up as the fastest after I left, but that wasn’t the main focus. I got what I needed and that was a lot of seat time on the GP bike. It takes a bit of getting used to how late you can brake and how early you can get on the gas with this motorcycle. I think I made a lot of strides in getting the feel for how the bike and tires reacts under various situations. Hopefully that will pay dividends for me when we go to Laguna in a couple of weeks.”
Spies provided the tire company with a tremendous amount of data by turning more laps than any other rider in the test. Suzuki also felt they benefited from Spies’ work ethic.
