Spies Seeks Record Winning Streak
Spies seeks record winning streak
The Longview, Tex. native has won six races in a row, most recently pulling off the double at Miller Motorsports Park on June 1.
This is Spies second six-race winning streak; he also won six in a row in the 2006 season. Spies is the first rider to accomplish the feat twice. Only Miguel Duhamel (1995) and Spies Suzuki teammate Mat Mladin (2007) have won six AMA Superbike races in succession.
Spies may not have another chance at setting the record as he is looking towards making the jump to MotoGP next year. Spies has already been confirmed to join Suzukis factory team alongside Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen at the Grand Prix series two stops on American soil this season at Laguna Seca and Indianapolis.
Ironically, Mladin is expected to the biggest obstacle to Spies attempt at the record. Mladin is coming off a disappointing (by his standards) weekend at Miller Motorsports Park, failing to reach the podium in either race at the Utah-track. After winning the first three races of the year, Mladin was the runner-up in the first four races of Spies streak.
Mladin may yet turn things around however, as he has history on his side. Mladin has seven career wins at Road America including a victory in 2006 that ended Spies previous record winning streak.
Mladins set-back in Utah may have also given a much-needed confidence boost to Monster Energy Kawasakis Jamie Hacking and Hondas Neil Hodgson. Hacking earned a pair of second place finishes at Miller Motorsports Park while Hodgson finished third in both races.
Both racers have improved as the season progressed, and a successful weekend in Elkhart Lake could place them close to Spies and Mladin in the point standings.
Pos. | Rider | Bike | Points |
1. | Ben Spies | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 308 |
2. | Mat Mladin | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 269 |
3. | Neil Hodgson | CBR1000RR | 239 |
4. | Jamie Haking | Kawasaki ZX-10R | 234 |
5. | Jason DiSalvo | Yamaha ZXF-R1 | 222 |
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