After a difficult start to the season at the opening round of the MotoGP™ championship in Qatar, Factory Yamaha rider Ben Spies has wowed to bounce back at this weekend´s race in Jerez with the podium firmly in his sight.

The American endured a torrid race at the Losail circuit finishing in 11th place as a result of chronic chatter issues after some pre-race crashes complicated the bike´s race set-up. The Andalucian circuit holds even worse memories for Spies, as he crashed out of second place with three laps to go in last year´s race held in very wet conditions, and failed to finish the race in 2010.

However, the former World Superbike champion is in an upbeat mood and feels he has the pace and confidence to challenge for a podium this time out.

Spies:

"I’m feeling good, I haven’t had great results at Jerez yet but we had a really positive test there so I’m confident. The Yamaha M1 is working well at all circuits we’ve been to so far. After a tough start at Qatar my goal at Jerez is starting the season again, I’m going to do the best I can to deliver. We had a good Qatar weekend except for the race, we know our pace is strong, the bike is competitive and I’m riding well so we should have a successful weekend."

Spies will no doubt be buoyed by his pre-season performances at the 4.423km track on the Yamaha YZR-M1, where he finished the official MotoGP™ test in fourth place, just 0.715s behind Repsol Honda´s Casey Stoner earlier this year.

Team Director Massimo Meregalli mirrors Spies´ feelings:

"We are arriving in Jerez in the best possible way after Jorge’s win in Qatar. The team is very confident that we can continue to deliver strong results. Despite the issue in the race Ben had a very strong weekend in Qatar in the practice sessions so we know he can be very competitive against his rivals. When we tested here earlier in the year the 2012 1000cc M1 was immediately fast so we expect to start this way on Friday."

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