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Ben Spies
National #: 11
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 165 lb.
Residence: Longview, Texas
Date of Birth: 7/11/1984
Current Race Bike(s): Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600 and GSX-R1000
Marital Status: Single
Description: It would be an understatement to say that newly crowned 2006 AMA Superbike Champion Ben Spies is looking forward to the 2007 racing season. The 22-year-old Yoshimura Suzuki rider won his first premier-class title last year in only his second season racing AMA Superbike. Indeed, the young Texan is eager to defend his newly acquired title.
“There are a number of reasons that 2006 was my break-out year,” said Spies. “I was more comfortable with the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, my crew stepped it up another notch and my riding stepped it up another notch. My first year on the Superbike, I wanted to be comfortable and I didn’t want to make a bunch of rookie mistakes. I tried to learn and build on that. I came in second in the championship that year and the only way to better that was to win the title. To be honest, winning the championship happened a little easier than I thought it would and I know it’s not always gong to be like that. We just want to take what we’ve got and go with it,
and try to win another title this year.”
As Spies prepares for the upcoming race season, he’s quick to compliment his crew. He also admits that he needed some time to become accustomed to providing feedback and to understanding the give-and-take nature of the rider-crew relationship.
“Every year, we’ve improved a little bit,” explained Spies. “All of us have started working better together with feedback, and I’m working better with that as a rider. I think that all of us experienced improved confidence levels after we started winning races last year. Now, I know we’re working as hard as we can together as a team.”
Not surprisingly, Spies’ biggest competition will come from his Yoshimura teammate, six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin, who finished second in the championship behind Spies last year. The 22-year-old Texan
relishes the competition.
“Mat’s the six-time champion and we’ve only won the title once and people are talking about whether I can do it again or whether he’ll stop me,” said Spies of the inner-paddock melodrama. “Last year there really wasn’t any
competition, just he and I on the Suzukis up front and running away. And that’s what I want to do again, though, hopefully I’ll still be winning the races. There’s a little bit of pressure, but we’re going to do what we can do, try to keep it simple and just go out there and ride a motorcycle and win some races.”
Spies’ weapon of choice for AMA Superbike will again be the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. Winner of 17 out of 18 AMA Superbike races in 2006, the Suzuki GSX-R1000 is also responsible for the last four AMA Superbike
Championships.
“The 2007 Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 is still as good as it was but now it’s better – and last year it was unstoppable,” said Spies. “I don’t see anybody bridging the gap to it and I believe it can win another championship this year. Everywhere that we tested in the off-season, we were the fastest. The GSX-R1000 itself was faster and handles better than it did last year. It’s an overall good package.”
In addition to contesting the AMA Superbike series, Spies will also race the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the AMA Repsol Lubricants Superstock Series. This is Spies’ first foray into that class and he believes the GSX-R1000 will be competitive.
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Victories/Accomplishments for Ben Spies:
| Year |
Accomplishment |
| 2006 |
Champion - AMA Superbike, with 10 wins and seven additional podiums |
| 2005 |
Second overall - AMA Superbike, with one win and 13 podiums
Fourth overall - AMA Supersport
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| 2004 |
Fourth overall - AMA SuperSport, with one win
Fifth overall - AMA SuperStock, with two wins
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| 2003 |
Champion - AMA Formula Xtreme, with five wins
Ninth overall - AMA 600 SuperSport, with one win
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| 2002 |
Sixth overall - AMA Formula Xtreme
Ninth overall - AMA 600 SuperSport
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Ben Spies
Mat Mladin
