MotoGP – Valencia – Ben Spies: “It was a great season”

Ben Spies had a great race in Valencia, scene of the last stage of the 2010 world championship, arriving at the foot of the podium. Jorge Lorenzo's next team-mate in the official Yamaha team ran an attacking race, managing to overtake both Dovizioso and Simoncelli, finishing in fourth position. The season went better than he thought, which is why he is satisfied. The word is up to him.

“Finishing sixth in the world championship standings is a great achievement for me and Team Tech3. It was a good race. I managed to keep the Hondas at a distance, I was confident. They have more acceleration and so I had to gain what I lost in corners. Once I overtook Andrea (Dovizioso) and Marco (Simoncelli) I went upside down for a couple of laps and managed to get rid of them. Finishing fourth after last week's accident in Estoril is what was needed, a perfect ending to what has been a great season. I said at the beginning of the year that finishing in the top five would be like a victory. It went better than expected, so I have to thank my team and all the people around me who gave me incredible support. I learned a lot this season and I am confident that I will be even stronger in 2011.”