Yamaha success not just about the bike, says Ben Spies

Reigning World Superbike champion Ben Spies reckons Yamaha’s domination of MotoGP is not solely down to the all-round performance of the Japanese factory’s YZR-M1 machine.  

Italian legend Valentino Rossi has won the world title in 2008 and 2009 while Yamaha has also won the team and constructor titles to dominate rivals Honda and Ducati in the new 800cc era.

Yamaha’s YZR-M1 has again been the most impressive bike in winter testing with Rossi, Spies, Colin Edwards and Jorge Lorenzo all easily capable of lapping inside the top five.

Only one out of the six days of winter testing was a Yamaha not on top of the timesheets while none has ever finished outside of the top ten in the pre-season campaign.

Spies, who continued his impressive transition to the YZR-M1 in Qatar last week when he set the fourth best time, said: “Everybody has their time in the limelight. Honda had their time and it’s hard to call with Ducati because of how special everything is with what Casey (Stoner) does for them.

“I think the Yamaha is just going good right now and the guys on them are riding them as hard as they can. There’s a good group of riders on that bike when you look at the talent, so it’s not just the bike. With the team, rider and engineers it’s a package that seems to work good at most tracks.”