Spies shoots hoops and pre-empts announcement on future

Ben Spies will be one of the three American premier class riders going for home glory this weekend at Indianapolis, and before the serious on-track business began the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider took part in the official pre-event at the Indiana Pacers’ home basketball court on Thursday.

The rookie met former Pacers centre Rik Smits, an avid motorcycle fan, who gave Spies some tips on how to shoot the perfect hoop. “I’ve had a lot of fun and it’s been great being able to meet Rik Smits, who was a great player back in the day. I wish I could play a little bit more with him but I don’t want to hurt my ankle any more!” said Spies. “It’s one of the great perks we get to do before the race and business starts tomorrow.”

Having placed sixth at Laguna Seca five weeks ago in the first of two U.S. rounds on the calendar Spies is targeting a result that would reward the support given by a passionate home crowd.

“This weekend I have American fans behind me so it’s as special this year as Laguna was,” said Spies. “For an American race I want to have my best results of the year in front of home fans. We’ll try as hard as we did at Brno and we just hope everything comes together so the home fans have something to cheer about. We’ll try to do the best we can.”

With Yamaha Motor Racing MD Lin Jarvis having confirmed at the Brno test last week that negotiations were underway for Spies’ graduation to the factory team in 2011, the rider said that an official announcement would be made this weekend.

“It’s one of those worst kept secret things, but it will be coming out in the next couple of days,” he explained. “There will be an announcement and I look forward to next year for sure, it’s going to be good!”