British MotoGP: Ben Spies second after early crash

Ben Spies bounced back from a crash in this morning’s wet practice session to clock the second quickest time on a dry track at Silverstone today.

The Texan high-sided at Stowe Corner while he was challenging for a top three finish in wet and windy conditions this morning and eventually finished in 11th with a best time of 2.24.214.

Spies escaped injury in the morning incident and bounced back with a strong performance in improved conditions this afternoon.

A gusting wind continued to make riding a tricky challenge but a best lap of 2.04.825 left the 2009 World Superbike champion only 0.034s behind Australian Casey Stoner.

Spies, who crashed out at the last race in Catalunya while attempting to seize the lead from Dani Pedrosa, told MCN: “It was an up and down day. This morning I made a small mistake in a very slippery part of the track but in the rain the bike felt the best I’ve had so far.

“This afternoon was quite rough for everybody because it was really windy and we did the best we could. It was a positive day and I’ve been getting more confident with the bike.

“With the crash I’d made a couple of small changes with the bike and I just picked up the throttle and everything seemed fine. We had perfect grip and I was driving out of the corner and all of a sudden the bike just snapped away and I jumped off as quickly as I could.

“It was a shame because I was so far away from the pits and I needed more rain time. But the bike was working really well in the rain, so rain or shine the bike should be good and we can put together a strong pace and show what I showed in Catalunya, but this time finish it off on Sunday.”