Ben Spies won't be fazed by Jorge Lorenzo threat

Ben Spies won’t be fazed at all by having current MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo as his team-mate in 2011, according to former team boss Herve Poncharal.

Spies hasn’t been defeated by a team-mate ever since he began his meteoric rise to MotoGP by inflicting a rare American Superbike series defeat on Mat Mladin in 2006 while riding for Yoshimura Suzuki.

He beat Mladin in 2007 and ’08 before completing a record-breaking blitz to claim the ’09 WSB title at the first attempt while riding for Yamaha’s factory squad.

And during an unforgettable first full season in MotoGP in 2010 with the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad, the Texan easily outpaced fellow American Colin Edwards to finish top rookie and leading non-factory rider.

Now former team boss Herve Poncharal believes Spies won’t be daunted at all by the prospect of partnering Lorenzo, who romped to the 2010 MotoGP title with nine wins.
Poncharal told MCN: “Ben has always had a humble attitude and he never said he was going to do this or that or say he was the best. He just wants to prove it on track and that’s what he’s done. Ben is very clever and he can rate and understand how fast everybody is. Last year he told me Jorge isn’t just fast, he is also a predator. But Ben has never really worried about what happens next door and he concentrates on himself. I don’t think he will worry about Jorge being quicker than him because he already knows that can be the case.”

Poncharal though doubts over an 18-round campaign whether 26-year-old Spies can outscore the Spaniard, who claimed a record points-haul in 2010 with 383 from 16 podiums.

Poncharal added: “I think Ben is hoping to do a great season and do more podiums this year and trying to win a race. But I don’t think he is going to beat Jorge over the whole season and I don’t think even he is expecting to beat him on a regular basis or in the final standings in the championship.”