Ben Spies was thrilled to achieve his first ever MotoGP win at the TT Circuit Assen on Saturday afternoon, taking advantage of a first-lap clash between pole-sitter Marco Simoncelli and Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo. The American went on to establish a comfortable lead, finishing seven seconds clear of championship leader Casey Stoner.
"It was a strange race today as it was one of the most comfortable races we had and it resulted in a win," Spies explained. "I saw the Simoncelli crash on the TV screen in the corner of my eye so I knew about it.
"I had a good feeling in the bike in the first couple of laps and had to push as much as I could to get a gap. When Casey was pushing back I still had a few tenths if I needed to, we could always match the pace.
"To do it this weekend with the 50th colours gives a little bit of pressure but it came out good! I was racing as hard as I could, I have to thank my guys; they gave me a great bike today. At least we’ve won a race now!"
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  B. Spies | Fiat Yamaha | 41:44.659 |
| 2. | C. Stoner | Repsol Honda | +7.697 |
| 3. | A. Dovizioso | Repsol Honda | +27.506 |
| 4. | V. Rossi | Ducati | +30.684 |
| 5. | N. Hayden | Ducati | +43.172 |
| 6. | J. Lorenzo | Fiat Yamaha | +44.536 |
| 7. | C. Edwards | Tech 3 | +1:08.112 |
| 8. | H. Aoyama | Gresini | +1:10.753 |
| 9. | M. Simoncelli | Gresini | +1:24.925 |
| 10. | T. Elias | Honda LCR | +1:26.216 |
| Full results | |||
| Ben Spies | |||
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| More Ben Spies photos | |||
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