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Yamaha unveils one-off livery for Ben Spies’ Valencia MotoGP wildcard ride

Special paint scheme closely resembles American’s Yamaha R1 world superbike mount

Yamaha Unveils Special Paint Scheme For Ben Spies' Yamaha M1 Wildcard Ride At Valencia
Yamaha unveiled a special... 
   
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Yamaha Unveils Special Paint Scheme For Ben Spies' Yamaha M1 Wildcard Ride At Valencia
Yamaha unveiled a special paint scheme for Ben Spies' Yamaha M1 wildcard ride at Valencia.
In a tribute to his ’09 World Superbike Championship that the American garnered in his rookie year, Yamaha unveiled a special paint scheme for Ben Spies’ YZR-M1 that he’ll be using at the final ’09 MotoGP event in Valencia, Spain. Spies clinched the title at the final race of the World Superbike season last weekend in Portimao, Portugal, and after signing a two-year extension to his contract with Yamaha in September, the company is already preparing him for his debut season in MotoGP by obtaining a wildcard entry for the final event. Spies will be joining fellow Texan Colin Edwards on the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha team in 2010, but for the final ’09 race, Spies will be racing in a separate team using Sterilgarda livery replicated from his World Superbike mount.

From a Yamaha Racing press release:

The Sterilgarda Yamaha Team have unveiled the special one-off livery for 2009 World Superbike Champion Ben Spies ahead of his wildcard ride at the final MotoGP race in Valencia this weekend. Spies will be riding the Yamaha YZR-M1 prior to joining the Tech3 Yamaha Team next Monday to start testing for the 2010 season.

The American rider has achieved astonishing success in his rookie year in World Superbike, bringing the first ever World Superbike Championship victory for Yamaha. Over the 2009 season he scored 14 race wins and 11 pole position starts in the class, becoming the all-time greatest rookie in the process.

Spies Looking Forward To Wildcard Motogp Ride At Valencia
Newly-crowned World Superbike... 
   
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Spies Looking Forward To Wildcard Motogp Ride At Valencia
Newly-crowned World Superbike Champion Ben Spies will already be starting his MotoGP career this weekend at Valencia, Spain.
“I’m really excited for the opportunity to race at Valencia this weekend,” said Spies. “I’m fully aware that MotoGP is a big step up from World Superbike and realize it’s not going to be possible to achieve the same results in my first year there. I see this weekend as an opportunity to spend some time on the bike and start learning it for next season, and to have some fun as well!”

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