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MotoGP
MOTOGP: Where To Ben?
Ben Spies' 2012 MotoGP campaign has been a mystery, and so too are his plans for 2013 and beyond.
Yamaha Factory Racing's Ben Spies (Photo: Yamaha Racing)
The news SPEED.com reported last weekend that Ben Spies might remain in MotoGP in 2013 was a bit of a shocker, at least on the surface. The Texan earlier announced he was leaving the Yamaha team at the end of the year and had given several statements easily construed as being someone fed up with the MotoGP life in general.
When you have one of the four prime seats in MotoGP and walk away, something isn’t right.
In talking with people involved with Yamaha and Spies, it certainly sounds like Ben was in line to keep his seat for 2013 despite his bizarre 2012. He has some detractors in the MotoGP team but also some backers, notably those in American Yamaha.
Life is too short for all of us to be stuck where you’re not happy. We don’t always have the power to do something about it but Ben did and he acted. Good for him.
Should Spies be in MotoGP and in a good ride based on his talent even considering what’s happened on the track this season? Undoubtedly yes. His career has been a decade on the upswing, with every challenge in front of him conquered before this wacky season in which strange parts of the bike have failed, a bout of inopportune food poisoning, and yes, some mistakes by Ben.
But does Spies really want to be in MotoGP? When we spoke with him at Indy, it sure didn’t sound like he was happy. But Ben reserves the right to change his mind.
Spies may not show a lot of emotion and is known by some as a rather stoic type but that doesn’t mean he isn’t emotional. Spies cut his teeth at Yoshimura as teammate to Mat Mladin. In that situation, showing your feelings on your sleeve was a weakness.
Ben’s ideal world is one where he can race against rivals on the track and then be buddies when the checkered flag flies. That’s the lifestyle he wants. Race hard with everything you got, then relax and have some fun.
That’s not how it works in MotoGP, though. It’s filled with driven people who have one goal -- to make it to the top in MotoGP above all else.
Ben never had that same drive to be in MotoGP. He never really wanted even to race MotoGP to fairly late in life. But the first two years had produced good results.
Spies likes being surrounded by familiar people and he’s had some of the same mechanics for years. He’s got an entourage. It’s a little bit of a tribe. Also, his mom/manager Mary sometimes ruffles feathers as she vigorously defends Ben’s interests. If you’re in the team and maybe you haven’t really connected with Ben, it’s easy to understand how he could develop some detractors.
Gresini is 100% right in asking if Ben is interested. Since Stoner is walking away and even Rossi himself isn’t sure if he’s an “alien” anymore, there’s a talent shortage in MotoGP. Let’s not forget Ben’s is one of four riders to have won a race over the past two seasons and been very strong in several others. If Ben was in the right situation in MotoGP, it could work out.
But he absolutely wiped the floor with the World Superbike guys in his only year in that series. If you really want to win in World Superbike, Ben’s probably the man you want on your bike above all others. In the end, that’s where I think he’ll end up.
When you have one of the four prime seats in MotoGP and walk away, something isn’t right.
In talking with people involved with Yamaha and Spies, it certainly sounds like Ben was in line to keep his seat for 2013 despite his bizarre 2012. He has some detractors in the MotoGP team but also some backers, notably those in American Yamaha.
Life is too short for all of us to be stuck where you’re not happy. We don’t always have the power to do something about it but Ben did and he acted. Good for him.
Should Spies be in MotoGP and in a good ride based on his talent even considering what’s happened on the track this season? Undoubtedly yes. His career has been a decade on the upswing, with every challenge in front of him conquered before this wacky season in which strange parts of the bike have failed, a bout of inopportune food poisoning, and yes, some mistakes by Ben.
But does Spies really want to be in MotoGP? When we spoke with him at Indy, it sure didn’t sound like he was happy. But Ben reserves the right to change his mind.
Spies may not show a lot of emotion and is known by some as a rather stoic type but that doesn’t mean he isn’t emotional. Spies cut his teeth at Yoshimura as teammate to Mat Mladin. In that situation, showing your feelings on your sleeve was a weakness.
Ben’s ideal world is one where he can race against rivals on the track and then be buddies when the checkered flag flies. That’s the lifestyle he wants. Race hard with everything you got, then relax and have some fun.
That’s not how it works in MotoGP, though. It’s filled with driven people who have one goal -- to make it to the top in MotoGP above all else.
Ben never had that same drive to be in MotoGP. He never really wanted even to race MotoGP to fairly late in life. But the first two years had produced good results.
Spies likes being surrounded by familiar people and he’s had some of the same mechanics for years. He’s got an entourage. It’s a little bit of a tribe. Also, his mom/manager Mary sometimes ruffles feathers as she vigorously defends Ben’s interests. If you’re in the team and maybe you haven’t really connected with Ben, it’s easy to understand how he could develop some detractors.
Gresini is 100% right in asking if Ben is interested. Since Stoner is walking away and even Rossi himself isn’t sure if he’s an “alien” anymore, there’s a talent shortage in MotoGP. Let’s not forget Ben’s is one of four riders to have won a race over the past two seasons and been very strong in several others. If Ben was in the right situation in MotoGP, it could work out.
But he absolutely wiped the floor with the World Superbike guys in his only year in that series. If you really want to win in World Superbike, Ben’s probably the man you want on your bike above all others. In the end, that’s where I think he’ll end up.
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