MetalDisorder
05-22-2010, 02:03 PM
MOTOGP: Spies: I Will Race
Ben Spies is determined to complete Sunday's French GP despite a painful left ankle injury. Watch the race LIVE on SPEED tomorrow at 8:00am.
Ben Spies is determined to complete Sunday's 28 lap French Grand Prix at Le Mans despite a painful left ankle injury. Spies suffered the injury when he was flicked off in a nasty highside entering the Turn 2 chicane on just his third lap of the Saturday morning free practice session.
His left ankle was twisted as his Tech3 Yamaha snapped him and threw him in the air with Spies saying that his impact on the ground was a relatively soft landing and not the cause of the injury.
Spies took his place in qualifying and will start 12th on the fourth row with Italian rider Valentino Rossi off the pole. Spies' fastest lap was 1m 34.9s.
"I'm going to do the 28 laps," said a committed Spies as he prepared to ice his ankle after qualifying. "But I will not need an injection for the pain; it's not that bad but in any case I don't do the whole painkiller thing. I'd prefer not to race. Maybe I'll take an aspirin.
"It'll be a little tough but come race time it won't hold me back. It doesn't feel good right now but hopefully for 28 laps I can put it out of my mind."
Despite the swelling and bruised ligaments Spies said that putting on his race boot offers more support and that the main problem is not being able to move around freely on the bike.
"Putting the boot on makes it feel better -- it's just that I feel I'm half a second behind everything; not on top of the whole situation," Spies said. "It's not like I'm rolling round gritting my teeth crying in my helmet. But even injury free I wasn't going to be on the front row.
"I tried as hard as I could but even without problems I only had another couple of tenths."
Ben Spies is determined to complete Sunday's French GP despite a painful left ankle injury. Watch the race LIVE on SPEED tomorrow at 8:00am.
Ben Spies is determined to complete Sunday's 28 lap French Grand Prix at Le Mans despite a painful left ankle injury. Spies suffered the injury when he was flicked off in a nasty highside entering the Turn 2 chicane on just his third lap of the Saturday morning free practice session.
His left ankle was twisted as his Tech3 Yamaha snapped him and threw him in the air with Spies saying that his impact on the ground was a relatively soft landing and not the cause of the injury.
Spies took his place in qualifying and will start 12th on the fourth row with Italian rider Valentino Rossi off the pole. Spies' fastest lap was 1m 34.9s.
"I'm going to do the 28 laps," said a committed Spies as he prepared to ice his ankle after qualifying. "But I will not need an injection for the pain; it's not that bad but in any case I don't do the whole painkiller thing. I'd prefer not to race. Maybe I'll take an aspirin.
"It'll be a little tough but come race time it won't hold me back. It doesn't feel good right now but hopefully for 28 laps I can put it out of my mind."
Despite the swelling and bruised ligaments Spies said that putting on his race boot offers more support and that the main problem is not being able to move around freely on the bike.
"Putting the boot on makes it feel better -- it's just that I feel I'm half a second behind everything; not on top of the whole situation," Spies said. "It's not like I'm rolling round gritting my teeth crying in my helmet. But even injury free I wasn't going to be on the front row.
"I tried as hard as I could but even without problems I only had another couple of tenths."