Ben Spies seems truly at home in the heat and the sand of the desert at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar.  Coming off of a win in race two at Phillip Island, Spies dominated the Losail Circuit up until Saturday, clocking the fastest time in every session, including warm up before the Saturday race.

Spies started race one in pole position after an outstanding performance in the Superpole. In a race start that caught him off guard, Spies began in forth and dropped to fifth.  In the second lap Spies was less than half of a second behind the leader, but this gap grew to more than one second while he was desperately trying to find his way toward the front.  

Barreling down the main stretch, at the end of the forth lap, Spies successfully overtook Nakano, putting him within reach of the leaders.  Spies eventually joined the leaders, but momentarily fell back.  Sitting tight in third place, it was as if he ran into a brick wall, when he patiently waited to make his move.  Eventually he got his chance going into the first turn of lap 12, as Haga attempted to pass Biaggi, Spies passed Haga.  Later in the same lap, Biaggi made a slight misjudgment and took the outside of a turn, while Spies took the inside, successfully taking the lead. 

When Spies took the lead it was as if dark were suddenly made light, like a switch were turned on that gave Spies the added confidence to ride beautifully, never looking back. This added push helped Spies create a comfortable gap for the remainder of the race.  Spies finished the race 1.893 seconds ahead of second place winner Haga.  

With a start in pole position for race two, the pressure was on as Spies attempted his third consecutive win.  At the start of the race I thought I was watching race one all over again.  Only this time Ben held on to third place during the start.  In lap two, Spies seemed eager to make his move on Biaggi, going out of his line to test the water.  With Corser nipping on his heels, Spies stayed on Biaggi, hovering left and right, eventually overtaking Biaggi to jump on the tail-pipe of Haga.  

With the pace increasing, it was clear that this was a totally different race.  After one failed attempt to make a move on the outside of Haga, Spies got in the slip stream on the straight away, lassoed Haga and pulled himself into the lead with 13 laps to go.  At the front of the pack, Spies turned on the afterburner and began to pull away.  Crossing the line on the straight, with 11 laps to go, the only thing Ben could hear was the sound of the oppositions’ exhaust getting quieter as he pulled away.  

In front of Haga and Biaggi, Spies showed the two how this race is won.  Hopefully they didn’t learn anything from him that they can use in the upcoming races.  With eight laps to go and a gap of more than two seconds, Spies followed the line and kept his pace.  Throughout the rest of the race, Spies, not seeming overly confident, maintained his position.  As Spies rounded the last turn, he took a glimpse back to make sure that his lead wouldn’t be threatened in that last stretch.  I’m sure in his mind, on that last stretch he was the only racer on the track.  Lassoing in the win in race two, Spies now sits in second place with 75 points, compared to Haga’s 85.

After two impressive wins at Qatar, making for his third in a row, it is safe to say that Ben Spies has truly taken the World by storm; World Superbike that is.  The new Yamaha can handle the heat of the desert in Qatar.  But can the new Yamaha YZF R1 stick with Ducati and Aprilia as the competition heats up?