Ben Spies was disappointed with his eighth position at Sachsenring on Sunday, a strong outcome for the rookie but one he felt did not receive enough reward after his performance.

“Eighth place does not reflect what happened on track today and it was quite clear that I could have been much higher,” says Spies. “I had the misfortune in qualifying yesterday that was nobody's fault, but starting that far back hurt me today.”

The American used the initial half of the event by making up ground from his qualified spot of 13th, after suffering a crash where he slipped on spilt oil.

“It wasn't easy to pass Melandri because his bike accelerates really well but once I got by and could run my own race, I was really happy with how I performed. Dovizioso, Simoncelli and Nicky were five seconds clear at that point but I got to just over a second away from them.”

Spies adds, “I was pretty much the fifth fastest guy on the track and I definitely had a fifth place result in me today, but I just had bad luck with the qualifying crash. But I leave with a top eight result and I'm not that far away from fourth in the Championship now.”

The American is now eighth in the overall rankings, only 16 points off fourth positioned Casey Stoner as he prepares for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix this weekend where he is anxious to please at his home ground.

“Now I'm really looking forward to going home and racing at Laguna Seca. I love the circuit and I will have a lot of support and I genuinely believe I can run in the top five,” said the 26 year old.