Spies “It will be a good last four races”

Ben Spies remains confident he can win the World Superbike Championship at his first attempt and believes the next two rounds at Magny Cours and Portimao will suit his Yamaha perfectly.

Last weekend at Imola, Spies struggled to show his usual dominance despite being fast throughout practice and qualifying.

Unable to match the blistering pace of the factory Xerox Ducati team and the Aprilia’s of Max Biaggi and Marco Simoncelli, Spies claimed fourth and fifth and as a result lost his 18 points championship advantage and will head into France this weekend trailing Haga by three points.

He said: “I am glad we have a race this week and our bike should be good at Magny-Cours, which is a smoother track and I think the Yamaha will be good at these last two rounds.

“I wouldn’t say we had a big disadvantage at Imola, but these kind of Kyalami and Imola tracks are built around the Ducati. Look at their pace and the rider input they were having to use; it was working good for them.

“We have good tracks for our bike, like Phillip Island, Qatar and Miller. Different tracks suit different bikes.

“I gave it 100% in Italy and ran off twice trying, and we are still only three points behind. It will be a good last four races.”