Donington Park MotoGP: Ben Spies wants more despite qualifying 8th in first MotoGP outing

Even though he out-qualified ten MotoGP regulars including Dani Pedrosa, James Toseland and Jorge Lorenzo, American MotoGP debutant Ben Spies says he wants more from his first MotoGP weekend in the race tomorrow.

Spies, who qualified eighth with a 1.40.244 in the wet this afternoon, said it was all about progression rather than dwelling on what he’s already achieved.

He said: “I am pretty pleased with the result today, but I still want to be up front!

“I know I’ve got to take it step-by-step, but every session we are getting better and better again so things seem to be going good.

“If it’s wet again tomorrow morning and the race is in the dry it’s going to be pretty tough, but I think we will be able to cope with it, the crew are doing a real good job ad I think everyone was pleased with how things went today.

“I’m pretty happy to get in the top ten at my first GP qualifying and I’ve got to keep moving on from here.”

And Team Manager Paul Denning was once again full of superlatives for his makeshift rider, but did say that his results could be dependent on the weather conditions.

“As for Ben, I think it is an amazing result today and a performance that he should be proud of,” said Denning.

“It doesn’t matter what the conditions are and what the circumstances are, it’s the same for everyone out there – he’s gone quicker today than some of the world’s very best riders on his first visit ever to Donington and his first time on GP bike in the wet.

“If the weather is dry tomorrow I think we are all very realistic that it will be tough for Ben to run the pace of the riders around him, simply because of his lack of experience with both the bike and the circuit, but his confidence will certainly have been lifted by today’s result.

“We just hope he now brings the bike home, enjoys his first Grand Prix and continues his learning progress.”