Ben Spies has made a shock announcement via email to American websiteSuperbikePlanet.com that he will be leaving Yamaha’s factory MotoGP team at the end of the season, and suprisingly the announcement comes ahead of his home race at Laguna Seca and before an official announcement by Yamaha.
“I have chosen to leave Yamaha after this season for a litany of reasons. I will explain more when I feel it is appropriate. I’m discussing my situation with my sponsors and they are behind me. There are a few people at Yamaha who I hate to leave. And they know who they are. I wish Yamaha the best. I won’t make any further comments until the offical announcement comes out.” and then via Twitter added “I’m extremely happy to push for the rest of the season to my fans and myself next year starts a new chapter. And yes I’m pumped!”
Where Spies will be heading is still a complete mystery, as he hasn’t been tied to any other team during this year’s silly season, and his factory seat has been hotly contested between Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso, but Valentino Rossi may be more than heavily involved in the Texas Terror leaving the team as yesterday’s rumor, had the former World Champion returning to Yamaha and bringing them a mega sponsor (take your choice from the three bandied around, Coca Cola, Marlboro and Monster Energy).
