We're not sure if this is some sort of welcoming courtesy from Lorenzo's part or not, but the Spaniard told the media during the unveiling of Yamaha's 2011-spec challenger that Spies' performances in the 2010 campaign recommend him as a top player in the 2011 MotoGP title fight.
“I think Ben is going to fight for the championship,” said Lorenzo during the aforementioned event, according to Autosport. “He is very fast and has already shown he can fight to the front of the pack and was the best satellite rider last year.”
Making his debut into the MotoGP series after winning the 2009 World Superbike championship, Spies impressed a lot of people by finishing 6th overall in the riders' classification. However, as compared to Lorenzo, the former Tech 3 rider agrees he has a lot of learning to do before even considering himself ready for a world title battle.
“You can't just jump in and say we're going for the championship this year, it's still early and it's only our second season,” said Spies. “We finished sixth at the end of 2010; I always want to do better every year I race so I want to finish inside the top five this year. Realistically my aim is to battle for wins and podiums.”
In the first day of testing on the Sepang International Circuit, Spies scored the 6th best time of the pack, whereas his teammate Lorenzo had do settle for 3rd place in the timing reports. Once again, Honda dominated the testing session, with Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa managing a 1-2 finish.
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