NoQuarter#121

Jason, come out to plaaayyyy, Jason, come out to plaaayaaay...

If WSBK competition is so weak how come Spies keeps crashing trying to keep the pace?

How many crashes this year at WSBK?

How many crashes in his CAREER at AMA SBK?

I'll take the split with Haga 2nd and 1st.

I really do want Haga to win it all this year. He is a warrior and has put in the hard yards to get where he is.

Even without Bayliss it would mean alot, because Ben is so obviously stellar.

Go Haga!

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TaurusRacing

OMG!!!! Race 1 WAS INCREDIBLE!!! After watching MotoGP Japan race I am absolutely convinced that WSBK is where the real action is.

As I mentioned in a previous thread, Spies is incredible. Holy crap 3 people in it to the last lap. Ben made an incredible pass. And Spies diceing it up with Haslam a few laps earlier. I am still in awe at how great the racing was. WOW. I still like Haga better though.

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jwfzr

Lol.. you know as well as anyone the only reason Spies is crashing is because of the new bike and tracks. Great for Haga but it's not even close to being over. Haga is Haga and has a lot of choking left in him. What amazing races.

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TaurusRacing

Wow you called it to a T Allister. Second race wasn't as good as the first but I loved the results. Great to see Haslam up there too.

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RaceFreak

amazing race, I was holding my breath so much I could have passed out!

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theJrod

I'll bet Spies wouldn't have crashed if he was running Dunlops.

You gotta admint Spies gave the field a whoopin in race 1. If he stays upright, I think he's definitely the better rider. Whodathunk Haga would be Mr Consistency this year!?

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TaurusRacing

The debate is on...

You think Spies gave the field a whoopin???? The race I saw had Spies pass Haga on the last lap in a corner that almost no one passes in. Great pass but there wasn't any whoopin.

Haga gave some whoopin in race 2. Trust me...Spies is great and will be DOMINATE in WSBK and maybe even MotoGP. But he isn't whoopin on anyone.

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jkester92

Seems to me I recall someone predicted something just like this was gonna happened in the "AMA riders are better than the WSB riders thread"

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TaurusRacing

Just got updated on that thread. There is no doubt that Spies (AMA) is a great rider. Mladin would be great in WSBK too. The rest of AMA SBK (whatever it is called this year) would be mid-pack in my opinion. The field in WSBK are fighters. Really close to BSB. I am not taking anything away from AMA. It just feels different when you watch AMA, BSB and compare it to WSBK.

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Haus

track inexperience, tires, new bike?........

"I mean I barely got the bike off the edge and that was the end of the race. That's just how it goes.” - Spies

He f'd up. not too complicated. I've never really been a huge spies fan because I've never watched him really have to scrap hard for a win, but that first race was just too freakin cool. Him and Haslam have some brass ones for trying to hold on that tight. Not sure how Ben was able to get on the throttle when he did, made the difference though.

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Lone Rider

Oh just eat your crow and get over it. You aint falling on a sword here.
Haga is on a super team and putting in remarkable rides.
Ben is just doing what a novice to a series does.
Admittedly the fastest "rookie" this series has seen......,so far.
Its still a long season and as I said in the other thread Haga has the advantage of years of experience, the better team and bike.
Ben best be careful or He might not keep his second in points.
The passing in race one was electric !!!
I was totally wrong about his toughness !!
Hopefully He wasnt hurt in that wicked crash.

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mnewell

And Haslam played Spies super-tough and that guy hasn't won anything major in his career. He's done BSB and WSBK but never been a champion.

Compare that to the AMA Championships that Spies has garnered and I think your argument that Spies/AMA riders are better than the rest of the world is starting to lose some steam...

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jwfzr

and Haslem still has yet to win anything. lol.. proves my point even more. Haslem cannot even win a wsbk race. Machines are very equal with the exception of the cheater bike. When Spies stops crashing the season is over.

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jwfzr

You must have seen the old movie,"the Warriors"?

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mnewell

Can youuuu digggg it?!?!?!

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TaurusRacing

I totally agree Haslam hasn't won a championship but he is always up there. Top 3 in BSB for quite a few years.

Your comment on equal machines is not correct in my opinion. Haslam is on a privateer machine. The Ten Kate Honda is the closest to a works Honda.

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watskooo

I didn't think Spies would win the championship his rookie season and it looks like it's Haga's to lose now. I'm hoping Spies can get a little more consistent and close up the gap to Haga to make things interesting by the end of the year. The loser of the weekend has to be Hopkins, who should just take a vacation rather than getting injured next year at Assen.

Race 2 was pretty boring and while SpeedTV didn't even get a good angle on the Spies highside, I did find a decent version on

Race 1 was awesome, the Spies pass on Haslam was just determination, neither one of them giving anything up, and the high speed pass on Haga was a great way to pull out the win. Race 2 could have been even better for Spies, it looked like he was more comfortable with the circuit after following Haslam and Haga for a little while, to bad the turf caught him.

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SiCC

awesome angle.

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soggydoo

great find!

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Buick_65

Ben was simply pushing way to hard on cold tires. I think he got lucky the first laps of the first race. According to the announcers he was 3 tenths of the supersport lap record on the opening lap....from a standing start! That's haulin' arse on cold tires.

I have to admit, I was not convinced that Big Ben had the stones to run with the WSBK crowd; but he's proving me wrong.

I like that it's he and Haga that are battling this year.

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TaurusRacing

I can't believe nobody has said a thing about this video. It wasn't cold tires...look closely. He hits that green turf and looses it. Look closely.

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RaceFreak

You are totally right! I couldn't see it until you said it though. You can see he even kicked up a little dust. What a shame!

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jwfzr

That "Private"machine is as good if not a little better than what the Ten Kate boys have put together.

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jwfzr

Spies is starting to race like Mladin has been the last couple of years. Stay on the bike win. Crash and get no points. Hope he sorts this out soon.

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jkester92

Bad news, he is going to win a few more and crash some more, then he is going to jump at a moto gp ride and fade into the sunset.

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jwfzr

I think you are wrong but anything is possible. The guy has more talent than anyone in SBK and most in GP I doubt he'll be fading away anytime soon but then again I remember Ben Bostrom "a midpack AMA guy" ripping off something like 6 wins in WSBK only to fade off into the DMG sunset.

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Buick_65

Agreed, he hit the turf and lost the rear. I doubt he just drove it out there though; my guess is he pushed the front and ran wide. Only Ben knows for sure...

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NoQuarter#121

Oh Yeah! Used to rent it on VCR and watch it over and over when I was a kid.

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jwfzr

Lol.. I grew up over 1000 miles away but my brothers and I did the same thing. I still love the scene when they finally get back to Coney Island and "In the City" is playing. Oh yes I forgot Spies will still win the title.

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jkester92

I may be wrong, but I have been right for 4 races remember me saying he was going to "Cartwheel off into the cheap seats" did you watch race #2?
Look for more of the same. I think I may have been wrong when I gave him credit for placeing about third in the championship thou, more like 5th, then Moto GP, then he will do his Collin Edwards in moto gp impression.

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jwfzr

You have completely misjudged this guys talent. He's the best American on a bike at the moment. I too will be bringing many of your posts back in the near future to rub some salt into the wounds. You have no idea about talent.

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GixxerPete

I dunno if I'd call passing for the win on the last corner after Haga lead pretty much the whole race "a whoopin"?

People used to say that about Reuben Xaus too.

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GixxerPete

New tracks my ass. He's crashing cuz he can't handle the pressure, plain and simple.

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GixxerPete

Yeah exactly... a guy that hasn't won anything was able to give Spies the business... so what does that say about Spies?

Spies is the one on the cheater bike (duh) and I dunno what series you've been watching, but after his 2nd crash (aka DNF and 0 points) the season IS over, and it would take a miracle and as many DNFs from Haga for Spies to even hava a chance at the title.

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theJrod

Are you fishing now too?
Haslam has in no way given Spies the business. Halsam tried (albeit admirabily) to close the door on Spies one time. Spies wasn't having it, and you saw the result.

Spies did lose the championship with his DNFs. But when he's upright, he seems to be able to pass the field at will. Haga doesn't seem to have a say in the matter. All he can do is keep pushing in hopes that Spies crashes out.

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jkester92

Ya, I won't hold my breath waiting for you to bring up my old posts
Have you seen the points between Haga(the winner) and Spies? Wow!
I think he is fast, no dought He was smokin when he tossed that bike about 200 yards in turn 1 on the second lap. He has already lost to Haga this season but I will say "He is the fastest americain in WSBK"

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GixxerPete

Haslam gave Spies the business just as much as Spies gave the field a whoopin in race one.

The key there being "when he's upright". You know how the saying goes.... to finish first, you must first finish. Either winning or binning is a tough way to get championships, just ask James Stewart.

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theJrod

Please define?
The only time Haslam has ever been in front of Spies is when Spies briefly lost the rear, and both Haga & Haslam went by. Spies clearly showed that Haslam, despite his best efforts, has nothing for Spies. Even Haga needs a "known" Ducati track to beat Spies straight up. But where Haga will dominate is consistency (still sounds weird to say).

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GixxerPete

Nothing? Spies had to make an incredible pass just to get by. If Spies is the uber God everyone says he is, how can a no-championship guy like Haslam can hang with him at all? Spies should smoke him like a cheap cigar and pass him like a back marker. But he didn't. Proving the gulf in talent is not so great as some would like to believe.

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jkester92

Just watched most race #2 again that pass on Haslam was a thing of beauty and took a lot of guts and skill. The pass on Haga was a little more of a surprise,to Haga in that spot. We know who is gonna win this year, but who is gonna be #2? Spies is gonna be pushing really hard and I think has some crashing left in him this year. I'm thinking Max N.

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