Ben Spies wins Race 1 in Qatar
Ben Spies, onboard the new Yamaha R1 was victorious in race one of the World Superbike Championship in Losail, Qatar today.
Although Spies qualified on pole position, he made hard work of the race as he got outgunned before the first corner and dropped down to 4th position. Things got even worse for the Texan on lap 2 when he dropped down to 5th place after Shinya Nakano managed to sneak past too.
However, from lap 5 onwards Spies began his charge to end the lap in 3rd place although frustratingly he couldnt improve on 3rd for the next 8 lates and was forced to watch as Max Biaggi and Nori Haga battled for the lead of the race.
On lap 13 Spies took the most of an opportunity to sweep through to 2nd place passing Haga after his attempt to get past Biaggi was thwarted and he was caught off guard by Spies.
It was just a matter of time before Spies got his chance to go for the lead and when Biaggi made a small mistake heading into lap 6 a short time later then Spies took the opportunity to dive up the inside for the lead.
From there there was only going to be one winner, and with Haga and Biaggi continuing to squabble for 2nd place, Spies continue his charge to win the race by 2 seconds from the eventual 2nd place finisher, Haga with the veteran Biaggi having to settle for 3rd.
Article by Dan
Bike Insurance from The Bike Insurer
