Great to see Spies up there again! 

Haga seems to have came from nowhere to get 4th...seemed like he's been struggling there a bit (at least by the results posts here). Hopefully we get another Haga/Spies battle for the top spot. 

his Superpole 'strategy' seemed to work out a little better this time.  and yeah, i'm sure he'll make it through traffic there in no time.

but keep in mind that Losail is not the duc's favorite track by a long shot.

 

'Long-Legs' Texas Makes Every Single Rival Team Manager In WSBK Paddock Wonder 'What, Exactly, Are We Doing?'

Random Superpole thoughts ---

That factory Yamaha is for real. 

At least Haga doesn't have to go from 14th to 1st this time. 

How the hell is Fabrizio 1.5 seconds off the pace of a privateer? 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Shakey can score some points this round.

The 'priller looks good for one lap in qualifying.  Race?  We'll see.

What happened to the Gixxers (Yeah, I read that Maz N screwed up)?

Haslam, Rea.   

I know we've been talking about Spies non-stop for a while now, but I'm pretty damn impressed so far. 

I wonder if we'll see a more consistent grid in a couple of round once the teams get the Superpole strategy figured out.

Derby, I can't believe you woke up in the middle of the night to watch it.  Freak. 

Quote from: Spidey on March 13, 2009, 09:38:01 AM
Derby, I can't believe you woke up in the middle of the night to watch it.  Freak. 

he set the alarm on that weird lil yellow puppet to smack the snot out of him and get up to watch....what he did afterward with the puppet is what makes him a freak!

I'm still amazed at how well Spies is doing. Another Pole... wtf Nice to see the "local" kid doing well!
I'm wondering if Suzuki is kicking themselves for not signing him up for Motogp (ok with the global recession prob not).

Quote from: Spidey on March 13, 2009, 09:38:01 AM
How the hell is Fabrizio 1.5 seconds off the pace of a privateer? 

and only a few 10ths ahead of another

Quote from: Spidey on March 13, 2009, 09:38:01 AM
What happened to the Gixxers (Yeah, I read that Maz N screwed up)?

rear grip, gone.  went the wrong way.

Quote from: Spidey on March 13, 2009, 09:38:01 AM
I know we've been talking about Spies non-stop for a while now, but I'm pretty damn impressed so far. 

no kidding.  i know i'm cheerleading a lot, but... wow.

we should probably start talking about house just as often.

Quote from: gm2 on March 13, 2009, 09:57:54 AM
no kidding.  i know i'm cheerleading a lot, but... wow.

we should probably start talking about house just as often.

His quotes are getting funny though.  We should start betting on how many times a weekend he can refer to how fast everyone else is.  His people clearly told him to not come off as an uppity prick by talking smack around the paddock.   

Quote from: Cynic on March 13, 2009, 09:51:52 AM
I'm wondering if Suzuki is kicking themselves for not signing him up for Motogp (ok with the global recession prob not).

'Attn Everyone E-mailing In With Requests We Do A Story On Suzuki's Idiocy In Not Hiring Spies. We Already Did That Story Last Year.'

Dean = funny.

Quote from: derby on March 13, 2009, 06:24:17 AM
Superbike - Superpole

Update: March 13, 2009, 14:14 PM ET

1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'57.280
2 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'57.384
3 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1'57.694
4 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'57.850
5 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'57.878
6 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 1'58.755
7 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.090
8 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 2'00.021
9 44 Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'58.734
10 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'58.919
11 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'59.044
12 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.055
13 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'59.074
14 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'59.134
15 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'59.435
16 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'59.454
17 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.713
18 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.882
19 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'59.926
20 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 2'00.108
21 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'00.738
22 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'00.839
23 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.047
24 24 Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 2'01.165
25 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'01.560
26 86 Badovini A. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.561
27 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.607
28 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'02.663

other than Ben, very different order here:
http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=35831

I don't think so, g.  Scroll down in your link.   

Quote from: SP3 on March 12, 2009, 01:53:23 PM
We can quit going on about this. In this day and age, a rider at his level doesn't "learn" (m)any tracks. The vast majority of tracks the top level series race one today are flat and characterless. No change in radii/elevation/camber/surface - i.e. nothing to "learn" beyond the simple brake/turn/accelerate points. And these are almost commited to memory before the first turn of a wheel because of the data gathered relentlessly from prior events.

Tracks that have to be "learned" would be Laguna Seca, Mid Ohio, and Spa to name just a few. These places have most or all of the changes I mentioned plus sunned/shaded sections (MidO), cig-ignited hillside-scorching fires with driver-blinding smoke (Laguna), and different weather in one lap (Spa). Phillip Island is not terribly "character" packed though it is a favorite of many to watch. Qatar is just about as flat and featureless as it gets. The same goes for the other recently built venues (China, Bahrain, etc). As for the rest, most have been "safetyfied" over the last decade to the point that a lot of their character has been removed as a result (intended or not). I cannot think of a single track on this years schedule where Spies should have any problems that arrise from lack of track knowledge. Nor do I think that you will hear him say so even once.

or... maybe not.

http://www.crash.net/World+Superbikes/News/143984/1/ben_spies_i_probably_lost_a_couple_of_tenths.html

“The bike continues to get better and I'm getting more comfortable on it each time,” he added. “That's the big reason I think learning these circuits is coming along so well. I'm comfortable on the bike and if I make a mistake it handles so well that I can lean on it that much harder and make it through a turn.”

Quote from: Spidey on March 13, 2009, 10:41:11 AM
I don't think so, g.  Scroll down in your link.   

... oops.  ok, i'm doing 48 things at once. 

Quote from: gm2 on March 13, 2009, 10:36:45 AM
'Attn Everyone E-mailing In With Requests We Do A Story On Suzuki's Idiocy In Not Hiring Spies. We Already Did That Story Last Year.'

Dean = funny.

Damn Soup reading my mind again.... or maybe I just spend too much time on Soup as it is...

Quote from: Spidey on March 13, 2009, 09:38:01 AM

Derby, I can't believe you woke up in the middle of the night to watch it.  Freak. 

it's easy to avoid spoilers when you watch it live.