When all the chips were down, American Ben Spies handled the pressure like he always does—he simply went to work in his own quiet yet assured way. The end result was a World Superbike Championship in his first (and only, as the Texan is headed to MotoGP in two weeks at Valencia) season, an unprecedented accomplishment. Heading into the Portimao race, Spies trailed title rival Nori Haga by 10 points, so he needed to finish ahead of the Ducati rider in both races to clinch the title. Haga was already starting the races on his back foot, after qualifying only 10th, putting the Japanese veteran on the third row. In race one, Spies got the start he needed and proceeded to take off with Aprilia’s Max Biaggi in tow; meanwhile Haga got a decent start as well, and was up to eighth place by the first lap. Unfortunately, while Spies began to creep away from Biaggi, Haga lost the front end in turn four and crashed, and was unable to get his bike restarted. Spies cruised to a race one victory, and only needed to finish sixth or better in the second race. When that event got underway, Sterilgarda Ducati’s Shane Byrne got past Spies into the first turn, with Hanspree Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea, Biaggi, Stiggy Honda’s Leon Haslam, and Haga in tow. Not wanting to get embroiled in dicing with other riders and risking a fall, Spies rode defensively to stay out of trouble, and despite some close calls (including a close pass by Haga that forced Spies to sit up momentarily), the Texan crossed the line in fifth place, clinching the World Superbike Championship in his rookie year.
Ben Spies did what he had...
Ben Spies did what he had to do and won the first race. When combined with Haga's crash, Spies only had to finish sixth in the second race- where he finished fifth.
"First I've got to thank Yamaha for giving me everything I needed to win,” new World Champion Spies said. “It was really good, we did what we had to do and it was difficult to do that because the pace was quite fast and I saw that there were a couple of people behind me. It was actually a really tough race [one], at first I was just going for the win, getting to the front and not worrying about anything. Max came through the inside of me and ran off a couple of times which really freaked me out so I went to get past him and then settled in for some nice fast laps to the end. Then when Haga was out I had to win to get as many points as possible for race Two. Once you have a gap, you don't want to be stupid and throw it all away. [In the second race], I knew that if Nori won I had to be sixth, so I tried to stay out of trouble. It was spectacular; I can't thank Yamaha enough and everyone who's been behind me for my first year here. It'll sink in over the next couple of days!"
A crash in the first race...
A crash in the first race while running fifth put paid to Nori Haga's title hopes.
“All weekend I have had problems with the set up of the bike, mainly with the tires that didn't give me total confidence,” Haga lamented. “Usually we have a package that works well at every track and here too we didn't change so much with regard to the setting, only really tires. In race one we mounted two hard tires and they didn't perform as we'd hoped, they didn't give me the necessary grip so it was hard to brake and unfortunately I fell even though I wasn't pushing so hard.
The Ducati rider was obviously happier with the second race’s results. “We changed bikes for race two, just to be sure, as well as changing tyres of course. This time I had more grip and was able to make a good race. Unfortunately second in the race was not enough to take the title and it's a real pity, but I must say that I have had a great first year with this fantastic team that always provides me with a good bike. I thank my whole technical team, Ducati, the sponsors and the Clinica Mobile who have taken good care of me throughout the season.”
Haga was gracious in defeat to Spies, who is now headed to MotoGP. “My compliments go to Ben who has been such a strong rival this year and even though he is going to MotoGP next year, I am sure we will remain friends. This week we'll start testing in preparation for next year. This year was a new adventure with Ducati and we'll continue to give 100% in 2010."
Race One results:
1. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha
2. Jonathan Rea (IRL) Honda
3. Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia
4. Shane Byrne (GBR) Ducati
5. Michel Fabrizio (ITA) Ducati
6. Leon Camier (GBR) Aprilia
7. Carlos Checa (SPA) Honda
8. Ruben Xaus (SPA) BMW
9. Matthieu Lagrive (FRA)
10. Matteo Baiocco (ITA)
Race Two results:
1. Michel Fabrizio (ITA) Ducati
2. Noriyuki Haga (JPN) Ducati
3. Jonathan Rea (IRL) Honda
4. Shane Byrne (GBR) Ducati
5. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha
6. Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia
7. Leon Camier (GBR) Aprilia
8. Jakub Smrz (CZE) Ducati
9. Troy Corser (AUS) BMW
10. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Suzuki