Ben Spies’ initial year in MotoGP has caused much anticipation, particularly following his place in the last event of 2009 as a wildcard racer at Valencia with a seventh spot.

The 25 year-old will take part with fellow American Colin Edwards as a unity part of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 squad this year, he explains how it is the right timing to progress his full time career in the MotoGP World Championship.

“I made my decision before I won the (2009 superbike) title. I felt that even if we didn’t win the title we were the strongest for the majority of the time. I felt I wasn’t going to be learning anything new by staying in superbikes for another year,” says Spies. “The number of years I have to hit my peak are getting fewer and fewer, and there are guys like Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo. Along with the amount of talent coming up from the 250cc class this year who already know the bikes so well and also the tracks, I need to start as soon as I can. By the time I get to my peak, maybe I can be up there to challenge. Right now it’s learning time, and I would rather start the learning curve as soon as possible.”

Spies continues: “I really think it will take me one full season to get there. If I don’t show improvements in the second season then I’ll know I’m not fast enough to ride with those guys. I know I’m decent and can run in the middle of the pack, but first of all I have to get comfortable on the bike and start riding it to my limit. Then I’ll reassess the situation and find out where my limit is: whether it’s getting close to the front guys or if it’s running in fifth to eighth place, or tenth. I’ll see where I am and it still might not be close enough.”

Tech3 manager Hervé Poncharal and Spies have the same goal for their initial year as a team.

“He just wants me to learn and do the best I can, and that’s what I’m going to do,” states Spies. “For the first half of the season I don’t think my results are going to be what will be possible the year after, but you can’t get to that level that quickly. Once I do get comfortable on the bike and I am riding well, I’m sure I have to take it to another level and find more speed if I want to run at the front of the race and make myself a better rider. It’s something that’s going to take time and Hervé and Yamaha are behind me.”

Spies adds: “Top ten is the goal, for sure. Seventh place at Valencia was emotionally like a win for me because I know how hard and how well I rode. People don’t understand how hard a top-five finish in MotoGP is. If we get a couple of those in the first season – around fifth, sixth place – I’ll be super happy with it. I think that for a podium to happen I will have to be riding exceptionally and I think there’s going to have to be a little bit of bad luck in front of me or a perfect race for me. If a podium does happen it’s going to be pretty much a miracle, and that would be awesome.”

“Realistically, if everybody is riding well and a bunch of people don’t crash out at the first turn, it’s going to be hard to see the podium in the first year and I’m okay with that. I’ve just got to keep building and getting strong – top ten, or top eight in the Championship in the first year would be taking a lot out of it.”

Commenting on his experience in the last round of 2009 at Valencia, Spies was content with the result.

“We didn’t make any stupid mistakes, I didn’t crash and I didn’t mess anybody else’s Championship up,” he says. “I guess you could say I messed Andrea Dovizioso’s up a little bit because I helped Colin Edwards, but that wasn’t even the plan. It was just to do as best as I could. In my eyes it was a good race for me because I wasn’t there to try and impress, I was there to get seat time. I really wanted to let the race come in and once it did I put my head down and was then able to start moving through some people, and we had a good result. After the first ten laps I rode as hard as I could for the rest of the race and I definitely wasn’t quick enough to win anything but it was a decent pace. But if I were to have raced three days later I would have been even better, so it’s just one of those things.”