So, as good as Spies has shown.....

[*KEN*]

I think that Spies has the potential to win a title, but won't ever get the backing behind him to do it. There's a lot more to riding at this level than just...the riding. And just ask Monitron, it won't happen on a satellite bike.

This assumes that Spies adjusts his work ethic after he gets his butt kicked the first few times.

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

I think that Spies has the potential to win a title, but won't ever get the backing behind him to do it. There's a lot more to riding at this level than just...the riding. And just ask Monitron, it won't happen on a satellite bike.

This assumes that Spies adjusts his work ethic after he gets his butt kicked the first few times.

Well, people talk smack about his work ethic.....but he's kicked Mladin's ass 3 years in a row, something nobody else has ever been able to do, and Mladin is known for HIS killer work ethic, so what does that tell you?

[*KEN*]

Well, people talk smack about his work ethic.....but he's kicked Mladin's ass 3 years in a row, something nobody else has ever been able to do, and Mladin is known for HIS killer work ethic, so what does that tell you?

Didn't I just say what that told me? If he works hard, he can compete with the top GP guys. I'd be just as happy to see him in WSBK where they actually "race" though.

And who are you calling a dick?

[Ninja Nate]

Well, people talk smack about his work ethic.....but he's kicked Mladin's ass 3 years in a row, something nobody else has ever been able to do, and Mladin is known for HIS killer work ethic, so what does that tell you?

Kicked Mladin's ass for 3 years??? Last year wasn't the championship decided by a single point??? This year, Mladin would have been winning had his bike not been caught with a counterfeit crank...

I do not think Spies has been kicking Mladin's ass for 3 years in a row... He has beaten him, but it has not been a landslide for sure

[DanFZ1]

Face it, he's been on basically the #1 bike since he started, and only has 3 wins?

Aside from Kenny Roberts Jr. who was the last guy to win a 500cc 2 stroke GP championship (in 2000), I think those 3 wins may actually be 3 more than any other American currently riding in the series.

Please do correct me if I am wrong. I would hate to inadvertently spread lies and half truths about the motorcycle heroes of MotoGP.

(... as opposed to spreading my lies in a more discrete and statistical manor as is my want ...)

By way of comparison:

Hayden won a single AMA Superbike Championship before heading off to Europe.

Edwards won a single AMA 250 cc Championship before heading off to Europe.

John Hopkins won a single AMA Superstock Championship and a single Formula Xtreme Championship before heading off to Europe.

Kenny Roberts Jr. never actually won anything before leaving the states to go racing in Europe (at the highest level of competition) that being the Grand Prix. He did not do well for quite some time but ultimately racked up a total of 8 whole GP race wins, some of which came against Mick Doohan and Valintino Rossi during the end of the 2 stroke era.

Ben Spies has won 3 AMA Superbike Championships in a row. Only 4 people have ever done that.

Ben Spies racked up an AMA Superbike record of seven wins in a row this year.

Ben Spies has finished on the podium 90 percent of the time over the length of his entire career.

Eddie Lawson is next in line at 77 percent.

Ben Spies is third on the list for all-time AMA Superbike wins, ahead of Fred Merkel.

Ben Spies has so far won pole position more often than either Freddie Spencer or Doug Polen did in their AMA careers. He is second overall for the most pole postions.

Now go back and think about Hayden only having 3 MotoGP race wins while taking a gander at what Kenny Roberts Jr.'s career looked like before he finally won a single GP championship:

1991 : 2nd 250cc WERA Championship Yamaha
1992 : 4th 250cc AMA Championship
1993 : 250cc GP debut.
1994 : 18th 250cc World Championship Yamaha
1995 : 8th 250cc World Championship Yamaha
1996 : 13th 500cc World Championship Yamaha
1997 : 16th 500cc World Championship Modenas
1998 : 13th 500cc World Championship Modenas
1999 : 2nd 500cc World Championship Suzuki – race wins 4
2000 : 500cc World Champion Suzuki – race wins 4

After 6 years in MotoGP, do I think 3 race wins (in addition to Rookie of the Year and winning a MotoGP championship) is AWSOME?

After putting everything in perspective, YES. I do.

I also think that Ben Spies, who raced part of this season while recovering from an appendectomy has an exceptional work ethic.

He also has an AMA record which pretty much puts everybody elses to shame, and we're not just talking about current events here. His AMA statistics are above and beyond those of any American rider that Valintino Rossi has ever idolized.

He is 24 years old. In 10 years time he will be considered "old" by MotoGP Standards.

After looking at Kenny Roberts Jr.'s stats, and at what the rest of best have managed to acheive, I have to agree with psyco monkey. (as crazy as that may seem)

The time is now for a Factory Ride for Ben Spies in MotoGP. Screw WSBK.

...unless of course he's going to ride for Yamaha...

[konichd]

So we all agree, Spies is a pig-nose jackass?

[DanFZ1]

So we all agree, Spies is a pig-nose jackass?

...sigh...

[DanFZ1]

Spies Rides for Yamaha Italia!

http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...-yamaha-in-09/

[Rhino41]

From speedtv site

"There were also advanced talks with the Ducati Xerox team in World Superbike, but the combination of Spies' high salary demands and Ducati's insistence on at least a two-year deal stopped that deal."


Well so much for anyone thinking that he wants to win more than he wants to be paid! Riders that ride for money really don't do much for me. Pass on the best bike in the WSBK paddock for more money, smart guy

[Ninja Nate]

Spies is a tard for passing up a Ducati ride...

[DanFZ1]

Well so much for anyone thinking that he wants to win more than he wants to be paid! Riders that ride for money really don't do much for me. Pass on the best bike in the WSBK paddock for more money, smart guy

I am neither an apologist or a loyalist for anybody elses corporate tag. If I was I would probably show bias towards Yamaha. Oh wait, Ben Spies IS riding for Yamaha! (and if Speed TV is wrong I will go down in flames on this post)

But really, get serious. Who among us would not do everything possible (just out of self-respect if nothing else) to negotiate the best deal we could get? Why does playing hardball during contract negotiations get your panties in a bunch?

Do you really believe that the manufacturers that happen to hold all the cards are somehow the victims now and that we should pass judgement on Ben Spies for acting like an objectivist and voting with his feet? Do you really think there is a single rider in WSBK or MotoGP or in any National Series that, given the chance to actually take home a Lotto winning sized pay check, would say, "Sorry, but as a matter of principal I just can't ride for Yamaha. I will ride a Ducati for free if I must!"

As far as Ducati goes, it was the best bike in WSBK this year. That's certainly no guarantee that it will be next year. The 1098's debut season almost never happened because to compete with the inline fours, once again, Ducati was allowed to up the displacement and cling to other rules changes from the past that favoured twins to make the Ducati competitive once again. This almost didn't happen and Ducati almost didn't get to race the 1098. It was allowed by the other manufacturers with the understanding that "We would see how things go and then decide."

Well, things went pretty damn well for Ducati this year. They've basically walked away with the championship thanks to Troy Bayliss. Now Ducati will try to say that they really don't have an undue advantage. They will say it was because of Bayliss.

It will be very interesting to see what they are allowed to get away with in 2009. But the best bike of all the inline fours might very well have been the Ten Kate Honda. After all, you've got the best sportbike of 2008 in any category being tuned by an exceptional team which happened to win both classes in WSBK last year.

Next year will see the introduction of the 2009 R1. So, having ridden both the Ducati, and the R1 for Yamaha Italia, Ben Spies might just have formed a very different opinion about who has the best bike on Grid next year.

People get the money issue completely backwards. You don't ride well because you think you'll get more money. You get more money because of how well you ride.

Spies has a better record in the AMA than anyone in just about every category except total wins in which he is third. He could stay and keep beating a dead horse and wind up with the total wins record but instead of doing what Miguel and Matt have done, he's moving on.