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Tuesday Conversation: Ben Spies
January 27, 2009
By CJ
Three-time and reigning AMA Superbike champ Ben Spies is about to take an important step in his career, moving from domestic road racing to the international stage in the World Superbike series. We spoke with him last week in the Portimao paddock on day two of a three-day test with his new Yamaha Motor Italia team.
RRX: Are you enjoying the World Superbike life so far?
Ben Spies: Yeah, it’s good. We’re going pretty good. I was a big jetlagged on the first day of the test, but we got going okay. The base of the bike’s great, but that little extra 10 percent, we’ve got a couple of issues—a little chatter here and there that we’re trying to work out. But the bike’s really good, and we did a few laps in the 1’43”s—pretty consistent, so it’s good. We’ve been mainly working on the mapping, wheelie control, traction control and all that stuff. We’re going to fool around with the bike and try to get those last few tenths that are really in the bike.
What have you been doing over the off-season?
Oh, just been training. It’s the first season that I’ve actually been healthy going into the off-season. I’m working on my base and doing that kind of stuff while getting ready for a big change this year, with World Superbike. I can’t thank Yamaha enough, and my team’s doing great. We’re making small improvements every time I get on the bike, and it’s getting more comfortable. We’re starting to get to that threshold of the bike, and now we’ve got to start looking for the time. We’ve just been kind of jumping on it, throwing tires on it every ten, fifteen laps, and now we’ve got to start making stuff happen and getting after it. The base is really good, and it’s been consistent.
Does it help having your crew chief, Tom Houseworth, here with you?
Oh, yeah. Weather it’s Suzuki, Yamaha, or even BMW or Triumph, he understands what I mean when I say something—it doesn’t matter what bike it is. It’s been good, and the team’s been working really well together. It’s really cool because we have such a new bike, and it’s such a big deal for Yamaha, but we’ve also got two younger riders who don’t know the World Superbike layout and are new to the bike too. It’ll throw some curveballs at us, I’m sure—it’s not like we’re just rolling our U.S. bike over here. There’s also new tracks and new guys—everything’s different for us. But Tom’s doing good, and the team’s working as hard as they can, and we’re making some improvements.
How much time will you be spending at your place on Lake Como?
Quite a bit. I’ll go to Australia for the first race and then Qatar, and then after Qatar, I’ll pretty much move over there. I’ll come home for the month of Salt Lake City, and then after that I’ll be back over there. During the Superbike season, pretty much only a month of it I’ll be back home. It’ll be good. I’m looking forward to it, and House will be there with me, and I’ll have a bunch of friends visit. It’s going to be good—good food, and lay out by the pool and look at the view. It’s going to be fun.
Are you eager for the season to get started?
Yeah. You know, after this test, we’re pretty much just going to the race, although we’ll test before it. Yeah, I want to race, but with the bike being so new, every time we get on it, we’re making it better. I’m definitely using every session we can get. I’m looking forward to racing—I’d love to race tomorrow—but we need as much time as we can. We’ll keep improving it, so hopefully when we get to Australia, we’ll be a force to be reckoned with.
Tuesday Conversation: Ben Spies
January 27, 2009
By CJ
Three-time and reigning AMA Superbike champ Ben Spies is about to take an important step in his career, moving from domestic road racing to the international stage in the World Superbike series. We spoke with him last week in the Portimao paddock on day two of a three-day test with his new Yamaha Motor Italia team.
RRX: Are you enjoying the World Superbike life so far?
Ben Spies: Yeah, it’s good. We’re going pretty good. I was a big jetlagged on the first day of the test, but we got going okay. The base of the bike’s great, but that little extra 10 percent, we’ve got a couple of issues—a little chatter here and there that we’re trying to work out. But the bike’s really good, and we did a few laps in the 1’43”s—pretty consistent, so it’s good. We’ve been mainly working on the mapping, wheelie control, traction control and all that stuff. We’re going to fool around with the bike and try to get those last few tenths that are really in the bike.
What have you been doing over the off-season?
Oh, just been training. It’s the first season that I’ve actually been healthy going into the off-season. I’m working on my base and doing that kind of stuff while getting ready for a big change this year, with World Superbike. I can’t thank Yamaha enough, and my team’s doing great. We’re making small improvements every time I get on the bike, and it’s getting more comfortable. We’re starting to get to that threshold of the bike, and now we’ve got to start looking for the time. We’ve just been kind of jumping on it, throwing tires on it every ten, fifteen laps, and now we’ve got to start making stuff happen and getting after it. The base is really good, and it’s been consistent.
Does it help having your crew chief, Tom Houseworth, here with you?
Oh, yeah. Weather it’s Suzuki, Yamaha, or even BMW or Triumph, he understands what I mean when I say something—it doesn’t matter what bike it is. It’s been good, and the team’s been working really well together. It’s really cool because we have such a new bike, and it’s such a big deal for Yamaha, but we’ve also got two younger riders who don’t know the World Superbike layout and are new to the bike too. It’ll throw some curveballs at us, I’m sure—it’s not like we’re just rolling our U.S. bike over here. There’s also new tracks and new guys—everything’s different for us. But Tom’s doing good, and the team’s working as hard as they can, and we’re making some improvements.
How much time will you be spending at your place on Lake Como?
Quite a bit. I’ll go to Australia for the first race and then Qatar, and then after Qatar, I’ll pretty much move over there. I’ll come home for the month of Salt Lake City, and then after that I’ll be back over there. During the Superbike season, pretty much only a month of it I’ll be back home. It’ll be good. I’m looking forward to it, and House will be there with me, and I’ll have a bunch of friends visit. It’s going to be good—good food, and lay out by the pool and look at the view. It’s going to be fun.
Are you eager for the season to get started?
Yeah. You know, after this test, we’re pretty much just going to the race, although we’ll test before it. Yeah, I want to race, but with the bike being so new, every time we get on it, we’re making it better. I’m definitely using every session we can get. I’m looking forward to racing—I’d love to race tomorrow—but we need as much time as we can. We’ll keep improving it, so hopefully when we get to Australia, we’ll be a force to be reckoned with.
