(NEWS RELEASE)

INDIANAPOLIS, Saturday, June 25, 2011 – American star Ben Spies took the lead just before the second corner in TT Assen on Saturday, June 25 and rode away to his first career MotoGP victory.

It was the first MotoGP victory by an American rider since Nicky Hayden won the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix on July 23, 2006 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Spies’ victory came midway through his second full MotoGP season.

“It was a strange race today, as it was one of the most comfortable races we had, and it resulted in a win,” Spies said. “I was racing as hard as I could. I have to thank my guys; they gave me a great bike today. At least we’ve won a race now!”

2007 MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner finished second on a Repsol Honda, 7.697 seconds behind Spies. Stoner increased his points lead to 136-108 over Jorge Lorenzo.

Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso rounded out the podium in third.

Seven-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi was fourth, followed by 2006 World Champion and Ducati teammate Hayden. American Colin Edwards finished seventh on a Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine.

Spies, from Longview, Texas, started second but lost the lead in Turn 1 to Yamaha Factory Racing teammate Lorenzo. But Spies dove under Lorenzo in the short straightaway before Turn 2 and began to inch away.

Then Spies’ path to victory became much smoother when pole sitter Marco Simoncelli brushed Lorenzo during a dive-bombing pass attempt midway the first lap. The crash-prone Simoncelli then immediately lost control of the front end of his San Carlo Honda Gresini bike and took Lorenzo with him to the asphalt.

Both Lorenzo and Simoncelli remounted their wounded bikes and continued, with Lorenzo finishing sixth and Simoncelli ninth. Spies built a 2.5-second lead by the end of Lap 1.

“I saw the Simoncelli crash on the TV screen in the corner of my eye, so I knew about it,” Spies said. “I had a good feeling in the bike in the first couple of laps and had to push as much as I could to get a gap. When Casey was pushing back, I still had a few tenths if I needed to. We could always match the pace.”

Spies more than matched Stoner’s pace during the 26-lap race. Spies turned the fastest lap of the race on Lap 12, incrementally expanding his cushion with every trip around the historic Assen circuit. The ride produced praise throughout the paddock.

“Congratulations to Ben, who’s a fellow American,” Hayden said. “I wish it was me, but he and his team deserve it.”

Said Spies’ 2010 teammate, Edwards: “Hats off to Ben because he’s done an awesome job all weekend and rode a great race.”

The Red Bull Indianapolis GP is Aug. 26-28 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

RESULTS

ASSEN, Netherlands – Results of the 26-lap TT Assen MotoGP race, with position, rider, country, motorcycle, time behind winner. All riders on Bridgestone tires:

1.	Ben Spies	United States	Yamaha
2.	Casey Stoner	Australia	Honda	+7.697
3.	Andrea Dovizioso	Italy	Honda	+27.506
4.	Valentino Rossi	Italy	Ducati	+30.684
5.	Nicky Hayden	United States	Ducati	+43.172
6.	Jorge Lorenzo	Spain	Yamaha	+44.536
7.	Colin Edwards	United States	Yamaha	+1:08.112
8.	Hiroshi Aoyama	Japan	Honda	+1:10.753
9.	Marco Simoncelli	Italy	Honda	+1:24.925
10.	Toni Elias	Spain	Honda	+1:26.216
11.	Alvaro Bautista	Spain	Suzuki	+1:38.466
12.	Hector Barbera	Spain	Ducati	+1 lap
13.	Kousuke Akiyoshi	Japan	Honda	+1 lap
14.	Cal Crutchlow	Great Britain	Yamaha	+2 laps
NC	Randy de Puniet	France	Ducati	+25 laps
NC	Karel Abraham	Czech Republic	Ducati

NC – Not classified

Fastest lap: Spies, 1:35.240, Lap 12; Pole lap: Simoncelli, 1:34.718

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POINTS

Riders: Stoner 136, Lorenzo 108, Dovizioso 99, Rossi 81, Hayden 71, Dani Pedrosa 61, Spies 61, Aoyama 51, Edwards 46, Simoncelli 39, Barbera 35, Elias 34, Abraham 33, Crutchlow 32, Bautista 27, Capirossi 22, de Puniet 10, John Hopkins 6, Akiyoshi 3.

Manufacturers: Honda 165, Yamaha 139, Ducati 89, Suzuki 33.

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PODIUM QUOTES

BEN SPIES (Yamaha Factory Racing, not classified): “It was a strange race today as it was one of the most comfortable races we had, and it resulted in a win. I saw the Simoncelli crash on the TV screen in the corner of my eye, so I knew about it. I had a good feeling in the bike in the first couple of laps and had to push as much as I could to get a gap. When Casey was pushing back, I still had a few tenths if I needed to. We could always match the pace. To do it this weekend with the 50^th (anniversary) colors gives a little bit of pressure, but it came out good. I was racing as hard as I could. I have to thank my guys; they gave me a great bike today. At least we’ve won a race now.” 

  

CASEY STONER (Repsol Honda Team, second): “Today we would have liked to challenge for the win, but the way this weekend has gone for us, I’m really very happy for a podium finish and to take some valuable points. Yesterday we weren’t happy with the bike setup, so today we made some changes and tried to get some more feeling. But unfortunately in the warm-up we didn’t get a proper chance to try it, which meant we started the race with a setup we didn’t really know. After the crash yesterday, I’m a little bit sore. In the middle part of the race, I started to have some problems in the left-hand corners with the shoulder, but in general we knew we didn’t really have the pace to stay with Ben. I tried everything possible to catch him, but he was able to retain the advantage and started to pull some more. So my congratulations to Ben: He rode a great race. But for us it was just important to get points today.”

ANDREA DOVIZIOSO (Repsol Honda Team, third): “I’m really happy with today’s podium. It’s a good result for the championship, and also it has come after a complicated race weekend. The track conditions were tough. When we were on the grid, the weather was still unpredictable and the track was not completely dry. So we went for a safe tire selection, choosing the soft front tire. This choice influenced my race because when I tried to stay with Casey, I was losing the front and I couldn’t push harder. This is my only disappointment today. Then after 15 laps, a strange vibration on the rear began. It was very annoying, and I couldn’t understand what it was. As I had a good margin from Valentino, I rode more carefully to secure the third position. After the race, we saw that the front tire had some issues, which Bridgestone will analyze.”

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MORE AMERICAN RIDER QUOTES

NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Team, fifth): “Conditions have been all over the place all weekend, and the race wasn’t any different. We went out with a rain setup, but we saw that it was drying quickly and changed to a complete dry setup on the grid. There were a couple of little wet patches early on, but it was OK. We made a small change for the race, but nothing big. The first lap or two, the tires heated up, and I felt really good. Then I made a couple of early mistakes. I touched a white line, and also pushed the front once and had to go straight at the chicane. Colin passed me, and then I managed to drag him back. I can’t celebrate fifth place too much, but it’s my best dry result of the year and puts us fifth in the points. Congratulations to Ben, who’s a fellow American. I wish it was me, but he and his team deserve it.”

  

COLIN EDWARDS (Monster Yamaha Tech 3, seventh): “That wasn’t an easy race at all, and to be honest, I’m happy I made it to the finish. I was feeling really good and catching Valentino and Cal when I went through the second corner and lost the front. I thought it was just because I was pushing, but the next corner the same thing happened, and from that moment, it was really difficult. Each time I was in a right-hander, I couldn’t turn but that wasn’t my only issue today. After about 10 laps, I got really bad arm pump. I’ve got no upper-body strength with the rib injury from Catalunya, so to compensate I was doing everything with my arms and at one stage, the combination of the two issues meant I thought I was going to have to pull in. It was a case of gritting my teeth and getting some points, but we’ll analyze what happened because Ben (Spies) won the race on the soft front tire. Our bike isn’t set up completely different, so we’ll have to talk to Bridgestone. But hats off to Ben because he’s done an awesome job all weekend and rode a great race.”

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MotoGP SUPPORT CLASS WINNERS

Moto2: Marc Marquez, Spain, Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol Suter. American Kenny Noyes was not classified.

125cc: Maverick Vinales, Spain, Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing Aprilia.

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NEXT RACE

Grand Prix of Italy, Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, Mugello, Italy, July 1-3, Round 8 of 18.

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2011 Red Bull Indianapolis GP tickets: 2011 Red Bull Indianapolis GP tickets are on sale now.

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