Spies wins World Superbike title!

On another gray, dreary ‘N wet day in the Pacific Northwest, I eagerly sat down to watch the final two rounds of this year’s hotly contested World Superbike (WSBK) Championship Sunday afternoon…

As Ben Spies, the latest in a long line of American Road Racers from the Lone Star state of Texas was hoping to make history against 2009 WSBK title favourite “Nitro Nori.” (Noriyuki Haga)

Yet it was the Texan who triumphantly claimed the World Superbike Championship in dramatic fashion, as the series Rookie tallied his (WSBK record) 14th victory Sunday at Portimao, Portugal; as Spies has had an epic season long duel with perpetual Bridesmaid “Nitro Nori,” as the Japanese rider has been unable to close the deal in a decade of trying to win his first World Superbike crown, while leading Spies by as many as 88 points at one point on his Ducati.

After having won three consecutive AMA Superbike crowns for Suzuki stateside, Spies switched to Yamaha this year four his debut outing in the worldwide competition, as a springboard to a future in MOTO GP - targeting his fulltime series debut in 2011; as ironically Spies was riding for the Italian based Yamaha WSBK Team which Noriyuki Haga had previously ridden for before switching to the rival Italian (Ducati) concern in nearby Bologna.

And after having wrestled the points lead away from Haga in the first round of the Magny Cours double-header, Spies faltered in the second race with what appeared to be the wrong tyre choice and thus went into the season finale at Portimao trailing Nitro Nori by ten points, thus needing to win both rounds in the final race to take the title.

Spies started the week off in dramatic fashion by taking Pole position with a record time enroute to his 11th Pole of the season, claiming the SuperPole Award and setting a new record for most Poles in a season… Before the Texan simply motored away from the field at the drop of the Green flag, before title rival Haga crashed out at the tricky course on Lap 7, effectively handing the crown to Spies, who then held off a hard charging Jonathan Rea And Max Biaggi in third place, as it was the Italian who’d “Nerfed” off the Texan Down Under in Australia at the beginning of the season.

Yet by claiming the victory, more importantly Spies gained a valuable 25 points for first place, giving him a 15 point cushion over Haga going into round two, who’d DNF’ed a most pivotal Race 1.

But you must spare a thought for Noriyuki, who came down with the flu on the morning of the season finale, adding insult to injury on his Race 1 performance, which Haga made amends of in Race 2, passing title rival Spies enroute to a second place finish behind Ducati teammate Michael Fabrizio by 1.195 seconds. (So much for Team Orders, eh?)

Although Spies had started on Pole in round two,, the race shortly became a Battle of the Brits, as Shane “Shakey” Byrne And Jonathan Rea became locked in a mighty “Scrum” for the lead with Michael Fabrizio in close pursuit, as Spies simply wanted NO part in the battling Britain’s and decided discretion was the better part of valor in his title quest, ultimately dropping as far back as sixth, before once again passing Biaggi to finish in a secure fifth place and claiming the World SuperBike crown by six points over Noriyuki Haga, who seemed very gracious in defeat while still suffering with flu-like symptoms during the Post-race interviews; while once again Rea made the podium, but Fabrizio’s victory along with Rea’s third place was enough for Fabrizio to narrowly clinch third in the Championship by a scant two points ahead of Rea.

As Y’all may know, earlier this year Yamaha decided to promote Spies to the ranks of MOTO GP one year ahead of its plans, as the newly crowned Champ will join another past World Superbike Champion at the Tech 3 Yamaha Team in 2010 instead, as Tech 3 will effectively become “Texas Tech 3” when Spies will partner Colin Edwards in his Rookie MOTO GP campaign.

Yet, I’m not sure who was more happier with the accomplishment as Yamaha WSBK Team Principal Massimo Meregalli could not hide his jubilation over Spies handing him Yamaha’s very first ever World Superbike title as a grinning Spies said it would take a few days to sink in; before he jets off to Valencia to partake in the MOTO GP season finale as a Wildcard entry…

A somewhat quiet weekend

Its funny to think of the weekend just squandered, being considered a “Quiet” weekend due to the Formula 1 circus receiving a well deserved break, while the Indy Cars are all settling in for a month’s stay in Indiana. And thus, upon pulling significant seat time in front of the Telescreen, alas I fell fowl to Lee Jiffy’s words ‘O warning about being a Couch Potato this weekend. Since I’m not as technically savvy as Meesh pulling up live streams via le confuzer, nor able to see anything on a tiny 4X4 box, I instead stuck to the tried ‘N true methods of remote control itus...

Supercross throw down in Los Wages
I started the weekend’s gorging ‘O television by tuning into the AMA Supercross finale live from Las Vegas, NV, as I’ve become somewhat intrigued by these INSANE athletes... Thanks in large part to Jefford, who’s a Motorcycling nut, having acquired one of Ryan Dungee’s past “Scooters” for his son Dundee.

Thus, I’ve been pullin’ for Dungee to win this season’s Supercross Lites West title, which he accomplished prior to the East-West Shootout Saturday... In which he finished runner-up by mere inches.

I’ve also been somewhat interested in the made for TV Drama-fest between James “Bubbah” Stewart and Chad “Crocodile” Reed of which a simmering rift has widened over the season with the plethora of Dirty Tricks being played between the two of them, who’ve for the most part owned the season, being head ‘N shoulders above the majority of the field. And after some questionable team tactics in Salt Lake City, Reed was trying to do the impossible and come from behind a six point deficit in the final round.

Thus, I found it most enjoyable to see Paulsbo “Home Boy” Ryan Villopoto on Stewart’s ex-Kawasaki score his second victory of his rookie season, while Reed tried making Stewart crash into the tough bloc’s with an overly aggressive move while stalking Stewart, which wasn’t successful as Reed would finish second with Stewart winning his second Supercross title aboard Chad Reeds ex-Yamaha mount by ultimately finishing third...

New Jersey Soak-fest
Sunday morning I decided to endeavor in watching the Grand Am race live from New Jersey Motorsports Park, which unfortunately was under a deluge of precipitation... And I mean heavy rainfall, as the in-car camera showed a virtual whiteout as Mark Patterson nailed the suddenly slowing Ricky Taylor on the opening lap, causing considerable damage to his Michael Shank Racing Daytona Prototype, as the racing conditions were simply atrocious, as the drivers noted that you could only see about five feet ahead, with many noting looking out the side windows to find braking markers...

Of course much was made over “Uncle Scooter’s” over-indulgence of F-Bombs caught on David Donohue’s in-car camera after the two collided during the finish of the previous week’s race in Virginia. As it was wryly noted how that conversation would most likely not make its way into Scott Pruett’s Children books, eh?

And it was most ironic while pit reporter Brian Till was doing a segment on how rain and electronics DON’T mix, the Telescreen went blank! And then the picture cut out several more times before finally returning. As the Proto Auto Lola, a combined effort between Tracy Krohn and Lola, scored its maiden victory, as ex-Formula 1 piloto “Ricky” Ricardo Zonta simply motored away from his manager Max Angelelli, building up a 40 second lead in the precipitous conditions, as it helps to be ahead of the rooster tails, as Zonta had taken over from Nick Johnson, whose Nordic driving talents had paid off handsomely during the races opening stint, as the Lola’s superior downforce finally paid dividends for the team after developing the chassis the past few years, giving Krohn its first win since July, 2006.

Budget Cap This!
Taking a brief gander on the confuzer, (so much for not logging on Sunday) I noticed that once again Emperor Bernardo is flexing his muskcles, by stating that he’s decided that BRAWN GP will not receive the Honda $20 million prize money he’d promised them after all, since the team’s just doing a little too good for Bernie’s liking... Having even gone so far as saying that they should have kept Honda’s name, since Brawn doesn’t sound good to him!

Is there a Doctor in the House?
For the afternoon, I tuned into the Spanish MOTO GP event, of which I missed the starting segment, hence not knowing why The Kentucky Kid (Nicky Hayden) continued performing so badly... New Team/Bike blues? As unheralded Collin Edwards has completely outperformed him to date on a non-works machine.

And being in Spain, which reports have noted is worth an extra tenth or two for the Spanish riders, it was most impressive to see The Doctor (Valentino Rossi) simply run down Dani Pedrosa, pass him and motor off into the distance, while Ducatti’s Casey Stoner held onto the final podium spot after a late race scare from Pole Sitter Jorge Lorenzo, who crashed with four laps remaining while trying to run Stoner down for the final Jerez podium step...

Tracy’s new Tattoo
“BOSS! Dee Plane, Dee Plane!”
(Sorry ‘bout ‘dat, couldn’t resist, somme-thung to do ‘bout Tattoo’s, eh?)

Thus for my bug-eyed Telescreen nightcap, it struck me how once again, how time flies by as Bob Varsha was filling-in, with Robin Miller co-hosting Wind Tunnel as Ye ‘Ol windbag Dave Despain was taking only his second ever night off... As the trivia question was who was the first fill-in host? It was Ralph Sheheen way back in 2004 when Despain contracted laryngitis... As DAMN! Was it really five years ago when I watched that episode?

Of course I was most interested in the interview with Mr. Chrome Horn, whom seemed overly sedate with his interview, as I for one am looking forward to the Month ‘O May being over simply so we won’t have to hear about the 2002 INDY 500 controversy, eh? As its interesting how the results do seem a little bit skewed in favour of the Speedway...

Towards the end of the interview, Varsha noticed Tracy sportin’ a brand new “Tat.” When asked about it, PT responded that he’s had a LOT of Free time lately and not a lot to do... Which gathered laughter from both Varsha & Miller, as Tracy continued on saying that he’s been tinkering on his cars in his garage, etc. as I seem to recall that he’s also a Harley fan and has a few custom choppers, but just too much DAMN Free time on his hands lately...

Asked about Toronto, he bluntly stated that they need him to be there this year in order to sell tickets...

And they razzed him on his lack of performance in SPEED’s Fantasy Racing League, to which he replied; “I just pick the drivers I like.” And how it’s probably Bad Luck to pick himself for Indy since he really doesn’t like any of the drivers at Indy this year. Yuck-Yuck-Yuck... With Tracy stating, well I like Dario and Kanaan, but I’m NOT going ‘dare for NO STINKIN’ dancin’ contest!

And Miller who was sporting a Head Cold this evening, made the comment during the shows opening segment when a caller asked about why no Will Power at Kansas... That the rumour he’s been hearing is that Penske will farm out Power to his son Jay for Luczo Dragon Racing to run a two car entity after INDY... (But hey, this is only a rumour, eh?)

And for those of you North of the border, eh? With your magnificent TSN, you may be able to catch the Tracy segment buried somewhere on the SPEEDTV website page?

Moonlight Ride

Whale it sure is a good thing that it’s almost time for Formula 1 to begin, eh? As I was hunkerin’ for some racing action and decided to watch some of the craziest road racers out there, by dropping in for this weekend’s AMA Daytona 200, being held underneath the lights for the very first time in its 68th running.

Interestingly, the Speed Freaks very first guest Sunday night was none other then Ben bostrom, whose interview was followed up by the question: Which is more intense racing? Formula 1 cars or AMA Motorcycles; to which “Stat Man Caruthers pointed out even though the G-Forces are amazing in F1, try watching “Scooter” piloto’s throw a two wheel bike into a corner with one knee touching and ratcheting their speed down from 190+ to 50mph in just mere seconds!

And what a doozy of a race it was... As it seemed like a very chaotic event, as these ultimate Sports bikes have NO headlights and thus, when the lighting fails... Like it did during the midpoint of the race, that’s NOT a good thing, eh? Especially when it’s in the portion of track where the hairpin is, and thus after a Yellow flag was thrown and a pace car dispatched, one of the 75 competitors smashed into the back of another stationary Scooter causing a Red flag period. Then another Yellow flag had to be thrown as the Pace Car had waived everybody around, including the race leader... OOPS! And that’s not to mention the rider who’d repaired his bike with duct tape... So, it was a very messy race indeed!

And then the following night, going for a double scoop of Scooter racing... I tuned-in for the Supercross throw down, which pitted James Stewart against Chad Reid for the points lead as they were tied coming into the event... As I’ve just been informed that 20yr old Ryan Villopoto, who was picked as Stewart’s replacement at Kawasaki is a home grown talent, coming from Paulsbo, WA. And the Final Heat was a wild one, as there was the usual hole shot melee... Which saw Stewart go down and then try riding away on the wrong motorcycle! Uhm? Thanks for picking my bike up, now get off of it, uze hears! As Reid went on to capture his second win in a row while Stewart worked his way up to seventh with a broken fender, tweaked steering and no helmet visor...

And to think there’s less than three weeks to go until the Australian Grand Prix...

Bostrom wins Daytona 200

Scooter sound bites

(Miguel Duhamel)
As this weekend brings a close to the Daytona “Speed Weeks” marathon, with the running of the Daytona 200 Friday evening, live on SPEED, the event will run underneath the lights for the first time. Look for Miguel Duhamel to potentially win his record sixth Daytona 200 race, while James “bubbah” Stewart will look to resume his winning ways in Saturday’s Supercross event, having seen his streak of seven straight victories being snapped last weekend at Indianapolis’s Lucas Oil Dome...

Spies wins in Superbike debut Ben Spies, the reigning three time AMA Superbike Champion, whom after not getting the nod to move into MOTO GP full time this season, has elected to go World Superbike racing for Yamaha instead. Spies showed his potential by taking pole position for his very first heat race at Phillip Isle in Australia, but faltered to 16th place after running off track. In the second heat, spies was a bit more patient, running behind “Nitro” Noriyuki Haga on a Ducatti, who’d won the races first event, and is considered to be the favourite for the World Superbike title this season. Yet, Spies finally decided to flex his Yamaha R1’s muscle and passed “Haga” in the closing stages and then motored away from the Japanese rider and Italian Max Biaggi who took third place aboard his Aprilla, to win the races second heat and his very first World Superbike race...

Schuey injured in crash
Whale, it appears that seven times World Champion Michael Schumacher is human after all, since the F1 Superstar suffered apparent road rash in a recent “Scooter” accident south of the Border...

Schumacher injured in Motorcycle accident


(Desmosedici GP9)

New “Duc” unveiled
With the opening round of the 2009 MOTO GP season just around the corner, look for the “Kentucky Kid,” a.k.a. Nicky Hayden’s return to the forefront of action, now that he’s once again back on competitive equipment, having made the switch to Ducatti and becoming 2007 MOTO GP Champion Casey Stoner’s teammate, as Hayden who won the MOTO GP crown in 2006 along with Stoner will hope to pressure “The Doctor: and defeat reigning MOTO GP Champion Valentino Rossi this season...

New Ducatti unveiled

Stoner beats Massa
In the traditional Ferrari – Ducati winter team ski follies held at Madonna di Campiglio this past January, MOTO GP star Casey Stoner defeated Felipe Massa in a go kart race held on ice, while Nicky Hayden grabbed the final podium spot.

Kimi Raikkonen wasn’t present, as apparently the Finn had a touch of the flu? (Or simply too much Fizzy the evening before...) While Ferrari tester Marc Gene was at an abortive test session at Vairano, which saw the Scuderia offer Felipe’s younger brother Eduardo an opportunity to come and play in the snow.

Thus, by finishing third, Hayden bested Ducati test rider Vittoriano Guareschi, Luca Badoer and Eduardo Massa in the intra-squad karting race...

Spies tests at Indy

At the beginning of July, MOTO GP hopeful Ben Spies, took part in the inaugural “Scooter” testing at Indianapolis in preparations for this year’s upcoming USGP round at the Speedway on September 14th, while the test was not open to any of the currently competing MOTO GP rider’s, Spies, the reigning two time AMA Superbike Champion was allowed to participate, since he’s only contesting the two United States rounds as a wildcard entry.

Spies who will race for Suzuki, took part with other riders as all five manufacturer’s were present at the test; Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha, with Spies making his MOTO GP debut earlier this year, when he was called up to fill in for the injured Loris Capirossi at the British GP at Donnington, qualifying 8th and finishing 14th.

Yet, in the recently concluded Laguna Seca MOTO GP race weekend, Spies qualified 13th, with elder Superbike competitor Jamie Hacking lining up at the rear of the field in 18th, while the top American rider was two time Laguna Seca MOTO GP winner Nicky Hayden, who started on the front row in P3, alongside pole sitter Casey Stoner, with “The Doctor,” a.k.a. Valentino Rossi in the middle of Row 1.

While Stoner and Rossi put on a mammoth Mano E Mano duel ahead of the entire field for the race win, trading the lead back ‘N forth several times... Honda’s Nicky Hayden struggled to retain his 4th place, while Spies (Suzuki) and Hacking (Kawasaki) dueled over 9th place... With Spies finishing 8th with Hacking finishing 11th, while Hayden wound-up 5th and Colin Edwards finished a disappointing 14th.

Meanwhile, at the sharp end of the grid, Rossi won his very first US race after almost throwing it away in The Corkscrew, while Stoner would have to settle for second after having fallen off his Ducati.

Yet Spies, who is currently leading the points in this year’s Superbike championship, hopes to become a full time MOTO GP piloto in 2009, joining the other Americans; 2006 MOTO GP Champion Nicky Hayden, Colin Edwards and John Hopkins, as Spies hopes to emulate Hayden’s success on the Grand Prix Scooters…

For Ben Spies comments about MOTO GP testing at The Speedway, see; Spies on Indy

Update
By sheer accident, while surfin’ le Comca$t cable service, (Sunday) I originally landed upon the 250GP Motorcycle race from the Czech Republic, as I’d thought I’d catch a little MOTO GP action during an off weekend... Yet, I wondered if The Big Boyzs were on? And was quite surprised to tune into the MOTO GP race on CBS, also taking place at the Brno circuit... Of which apparently the riders had qualified in the RAIN!

Interestingly I learned that Nicky Hayden has a broken foot (according to announcer Greg White) and wasn’t competing. Well, actually Nicky injured his heel contesting a Super Moto event during the X-Games and the doctors said he could do further damage by racing this event. Hayden will instead stay home to recoup and plans to come back at the next round in San Marino.

And I also found out why I couldn’t find John Hopkins name on the Laguna Seca results, as he’s just returned to riding after having knee surgery... While Ben Spies has had some surgery of his own, riding in pain in the Mid Ohio Superbike races after having his appendix removed two days after competing at Laguna Seca.

Meanwhile, after current MOTO GP champion Casey Stoner crashed once again, the Aussie now trails The Doctor by 50 points, as Rossi cruised to a 17+ second victory in the Czech event...