Ben Spies will be leaving Yamaha at the end of this season. The American made the shock announcement via email to the US racing website Superbikeplanet.com earlier on Tuesday, stating that he would be leaving Yamaha "for a litany of reasons", though unwilling to list them until a more "appropriate" moment. Spies made no announcement on where he would be racing, saying only that he was discussing his situation with his sponsors.
Spies' announcement has shocked the MotoGP paddock, taking even seasoned US journalists who know the Texan well by surprise. Spies was believed to still be in the frame for the second factory Yamaha seat in MotoGP, despite suffering through a miserable second year in the factory team. A series of problems - a broken subframe at Qatar, setup problems at Jerez, as well as a string of costly errors on Spies' own part - have seen the Texan score poorly all season, despite often showing well during qualifying. It was believed that Yamaha was waiting for a good result from Spies before making a decision on his future, but such a decision would have had to be made either at Laguna Seca or Indianapolis, the next two MotoGP rounds.
Stefano Musco Benoit Musy Shinya Nakano Aldo Nannini Godfrey Nash
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