Mr Perfect - Spies takes max points haul

Mr. Perfect: Spies takes max points haul

(AMA Pro Racing Release) While a number of his rivals got their 2007 campaigns off to rocky starts, reigning AMA Superbike champ Ben Spies kicked off his title defense with a picture perfect performance this week at Daytona International Speedway.

After earlier securing a pole/laps lead/race win Superstock run, the Yoshimura Suzuki superstar picked up maximum points in the Superbike season opener as well.

The Texan’s race actually got off to a rather average start, as he slipped from pole to as low as fifth for a fleeting moment on lap 2 of 15. However, he was merely biding his time, successfully avoiding the pitfalls that ensnared a number of his competitors during the treacherous race.

Yamaha USA’s Eric Bostrom got off to a blistering start, holding down the lead through the first two laps before giving way to six-time series king Mat Mladin. He continued to run a torrid pace, never running lower than third before being forced into the pits and out of the race at the conclusion of lap 12 due to tire and mechanical issues.

Mladin managed to run in first for just two laps before losing the front and crashing out of the lead in the infield. As the field powered by, he frantically remounted and set about climbing his way back up the ranks.

That climb was made a bit easier by a dramatic opening lap that saw Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jamie Hacking and Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Aaron Yates collide and tumble off track together in their respective team debuts. The incident also forced Yosh newcomer Tommy Hayden wide out into the grass and well down the order.

Roger Hayden was the next to go, high siding heavily out of fifth in Turn 1 on lap five, just moments before Mladin went down.

Spies, having just taken over second from Bostrom on the brakes on Turn 1, inherited the lead following Mladin’s misfortune. American Honda’s Miguel DuHamel quickly moved past Bostrom as well and spent the remainder of the race keeping Spies honest despite never drawing close enough to apply any real pressure.

In the end Spies took the checkered flag with a 3.021-second margin of victory over the Canadian. The win was Spies’ first Superbike win at Daytona and the 12th class victory of his career, tying him with Doug Chandler for 11th on the all-time list.

Afterwards, Spies spoke of his race: “We got off to a pretty good start. I was in second and then Mat came around the outside and I was third. Eric was definitely putting his head down the first couple laps; I was pretty surprised he was pushing that hard. I could see he was kind of getting away and Mat was kind of holding me up so I passed him out around the banking. Then when we came into Turn 1, I started making ground on Eric and Mat made a real bold pass in the horseshoe. He about hit my front wheel with his rear wheel and I was like, ‘All right. You go chase him…’"

“I kind of got a little bit flustered; it messed me up a little bit. I was catching back up to Mat and I was going to give it back to him into Turn 1 but I made a bit of a mistake in the chicane and Roger and Miguel came by. I had to calm down and get back by them and get the rhythm back…"

“I was pulling Mat back in and right when I got to him he lost the front. I could tell he was pushing the front real hard and it was pushing around a little bit."

“I just got up there and saw I had about a second-and-a-half gap. I tried to go as fast as I could, keeping that gap and saving the tire for the rest of the race. It played out as good as it could, and I just tried to stay out of all the trouble. Everybody knows that Daytona is a place you can lose a lot of points quick."

“It’s nice showing up with the #1 plate, getting pole, most laps led, and the race win.”

DuHamel’s teammate, Jake Zemke, rode found himself a lonely third following all of the early carnage, finishing with close to ten seconds padding on either side of him.

World Superbike legend Akira Yanagawa scored a surprising fourth, one spot ahead of Superstock star Geoff May on his restricted GSX-R1000.

Yamaha USA’s Superbike rookie Jason DiSalvo, determined not to make any mistakes, diced with both FBF MV Agusta men before Luca Scassa crashed out and Matt Lynn returned to the pits with technical problems. The New Yorker ended up sixth, a position he declared he’d be satisfied before the green flag waved.

Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Jake Holden dropped on the final circulations with a spent tire, but still managed a respectable seventh, one place in front of Suzuki’s Hayden and Corona Extra Honda’s James Ellison, who nipped Mladin on the final lap after the Aussie encountered tire issues following his charge back up to as high as eighth.

Yates recovered from his opening lap fall to finish just outside the top ten in eleventh, one position ahead of Colombian Martin Cardenas.

Spies will next carry his early title lead into Barber Motorsports Park, the scene of the next two races of the 2007 AMA Superbike season, on April 20-22.