Great races both 1 & 2. Once I realized it would be a wet race I settled my hope in Spies simply finishing in front of Haga. But for him to get the win goes to show you just how amazing this kid is performing. We fill entire thread spaces with the challenges faced by rider, from tires, to electronics, to track knowledge, etc.; yet, the amount on Spies' plate in WSBK is mind boggling, and the guy has excelled at every challenge. Ben didn't have but one or two flying laps to understand the Pirelli rain tire (remember, he's been on Dunlops his whole career), so he basically had to learn the tire in the wet race! Not to mention that this track is new. Racing in the rain is not something we see often in the States, so for Spies to get a wet win in a flag to flag race is outstanding. If we had Spies finishing within the top 5 every round we could tip our hats and say, the kid is amazing. But what he is doing, with all the new challenges he is facing, is simply beyond comprehension.
They had Mr. Kevin Schwantz in the commentary booth, and they asked him about his opinion on Spies. I hate when people compare a new rider to a legend as they asked him the very unoriginal question; "is Spies the next Kevin Schwantz?" Personally, if I had been there I would have laughed and asked the guy to tone down the use of clichés. But Schwantz said he thought he might be better. Well obviously he's not gonna say anything bad, then again he could have said, 'Spies if off to a great start and we'll have to wait and see.' (Which is what I would have said, because inevitably, when you compare a rookie to a legend it always has the same fing effect--it puts an unrealistic expectation on the rider, i.e. John Hopkins). This is really a dis-service to any rider, a big FU to the commentary guys on this one.
Race two was frustrating to watch for the first half since most of my focus was on Spies and his mechanical issues. I though, damn, this guys beats off every challenge and scores a win, under conditions that should have produced a win for others more familiar in the wet; yet the race two starts dry and Spies can't catch a break. He's been denied double wins this season (in theory) due to mechanicals, which is simply unacceptable.
Another thought I had, and this one is a bit more controversial, but it seems to me that the Ducati 1200 (yes, its NOT a 1098) is the Buell equivalent of the first few round of the Daytona Sportbike class in the AMA. That is to say, I smell a rather unbalance advantage on that bike. It really takes an extraordinary effort by both Rea on a Honda and Spies on a Yamaha to beat the Ducati, whether they be a factory or satellite bike. Congrats to J. Rea, a worthy winner.
Ok, and here is my last observation, after I got over sulking and snickering from seeing Spies' mechanical problem is race two, about mid race I started to focus more on the race at the front. It actually turned out to be a great race. As I watched it, I started thinking about MotoGP and the buzz that ensued after the Catalonian race. Race two was very similar, yet this was a three-way battle. Rea and Fabrizio mixed it up and neither wanted to give up an inch. BTW, I think I became a J. Rea fan, I was rooting for him to beat both Ducatis. Both Haga and Fabrizio tried their hand at beating Rea and he stepped up to the challenge and won by a hair. The coverage made a point of showing Valentino Rossi arriving in a helo and seeing the race from the sidelines. The most admired motorcycle racer in the world is an admirer of WSBK. Why would that be? So here is my point, my observation as I put it: Why is it that that the same GP fans on this forum don't appear in the WSBK threads? I always wonder why these threads here on WSBK are so lonely. WSBK produces regularly what GP fans were all a buzz last race (which only happens about once a year if we are lucky, but WSBK produces that type of races almost every round with the exception of some dominating performances at a few races by Spies and Haga this year). Yet here we see about the same 4-5 members discussing WSBK. I don't get it.
