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Ben Spies Becomes World Superbike Champion at Algarve

Ben Spies only needed one season to make a name for himself in the European-based World Superbike Series. After making a huge impression within the North American motorcycle fans, the Texan came to the WSBK with high hopes and the will to bring Yamaha back where it belongs, on top of the championship's standings.

Although he couldn't quite bring the manufacturers' crown to Yamaha all by himself, the North American managed to win the rider's title after a perfect outing in the season finale, at Algarve. He won the first race before an 86,000 crowd and controlled the action in the second one to become one of the few riders to win the WSBK title at his very first attempt.

Spies powered to the lead in Race 1 and, despite Max Biaggi's early attempts to clinch the top spot, the Texan kept his cool and never let go of his position. As time went by, the North American rider maintained his great pace and distanced himself in front of the field, while Biaggi eventually lost out to Jonathan Rea for the runner-up spot.

Another great news was to come to Spies' way at the finish line, as he learned that Noriyuki Haga had crashed out of the race while in 5th place. That took the Texan on top of the standings by 15 points with one race to go, which meant he had to secure 6th place or better in order to become world champion.

Riding a safe race in the afternoon, Spies finished 5th overall and, thanks to Michel Fabrizio's passing Haga for 1st place, won the title by 6 points. In addition to the winning crown, he also became the winningest rider in the 2009 WSBK, recording no less than 14 wins through 28 races (an incredible 50% rate of success).

First I've got to thank Yamaha for giving me everything I needed to win. 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. 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 in the next couple of days!” said Spies.

This weekend we had a problem with the rear tyre and in the first race we made a mistake with the tyre choice and I crashed. Second race was quite good, I was worried for the tyre life, but I started to push and I am happy for second position. Unlucky for today for the title but I try to do my best for next year and congratulations to Ben for the world title,” added his Japanese rival.

Spies will not defend his crown in the WSBK next year, as he has already signed a deal with Tech 3 Yamaha for the 2010 MotoGP championship.
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