British MotoGP: Ben Spies content with fifth

Ben Spies was in impressive form at the fast and challenging Silverstone circuit today after the Texan clocked the fifth best time in opening practice.

The reigning World Superbike champion showed that when he’s not starting at a major disadvantage he is a serious top six threat. 

Only Casey Stoner and Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team-mate Colin Edwards had previously raced at the Northamptonshire circuit. 

But the £5m facelift to turn Silverstone into the longest and fastest on the calendar meant little remains of the track that Stoner and Edwards competed on.

That was a major benefit to Spies, who for once started on a level playing field against his rivals.

And the Texan was able to secure fifth place in opening practice with a best time of 2.07.250. That left him trailing fastest rider Jorge Lorenzo by 1.259s and over 0.8s adrift of Randy de Puniet’s LCR Honda in fourth.

The French rider though had been at Silverstone last week taking part in a trackday to familiarise himself with the 3.667-miles layout.

Spies said: “It is a super fun track with a really cool design. It is really fast in a lot of places and I really like the fast right and left combination where they are building the new pits and paddock. And coming out of the first corner you are really picking up a lot of speed before that twisty part and it is all about finding the limit, learning how deep you can run it in.

“It was a decent session though it took me a while to get going. With everybody shooting in the dark in terms of set-up, we were missing a little bit in places with the gearbox setting but overall I’m happy. I think everybody will improve quite a bit tomorrow and I know I can be much faster.

“I tried a completely different set-up to Mugello and that has helped in a couple of places and towards the end I was getting more comfortable with it.”

Team-mate Colin Edwards was a lowly 12th but confident he can pick up his speed tomorrow after he finished over 2.5s slower than Lorenzo.

The veteran American though was raving about the revamped Silverstone circuit and he said: “The track is absolutely awesome and hats off to Silverstone because they did a fantastic job. The first corner is cool and then you’re flat-out going all the way to the twisty section and you really need to be brave at that point.

“It is so fast and reminds me of Phillip Island where you can really push the bike to the limit of its performance and the whole lap is just fast, flowing and really challenging. It’s just a lot of fun and they’ve done a great job.

“You’re going so fast that it takes time to get your brain in gear so you can work out how to go faster. I know there were some concerns about bumps. There are some out there but definitely no more than any other track. I’m only 12th which isn’t fantastic but I know there is a lot more to come.

“The bike at the moment just feels a bit heavy and not just in the change of direction. It is a bit of an effort just to get the bike back upright from maximum lean angle, but we know we can make it better for tomorrow and get it feeling easier.”