DOB: July 11, 1984
Birthplace: Memphis, Tennessee
Hometown: Longview, Texas
Height: 5'11" Weight: 160
Turned Pro: 2000
Ben would like to give special thanks to the following photographers for their contributions
to the web site:
Brian J. Nelson and Al Sessarego
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2009 World Superbike:
* 2009 World Superbike Champion in his Rookie Year
* The
World Champion with the highest number of poles in his winning year, eleven,
posting also the all-time season record of poles
* Spies broke the long-standing
record of 6 consecutive poles set in 1991 by fellow Texan Doug Polen, with 7
consecutive poles in a season
* Most poles at the start of a season
* Most poles
in a row by a rookie
* Circuit Lap Record at Losail, Qatar
* The first American
to win a WSBK race since Colin Edwards in 2002.
* The First World Champion for
Yamaha World Superbike Team
* Third in the age ranking with 25 years 3 months
and 14 days, behind James Toseland who in 2004 won the title at 23 years 11
months and 28 days and Troy Corser, who won in 1996 at 24 years and 11 months
*
The sixth American rider to win the title and the first since Colin Edwards in
2002
* The rider who has needed the fewest number of race starts (28 after
Portimao) to win a world title
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AMA Superbike Championship Statistics (1976 – 2008)
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Compiled by Larry Lawrence
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Youngest riders to win the AMA Superbike Championship
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1. Nicky Hayden
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Age 21 yrs., 12 days.
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2. Fred Merkel
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Age 22 yrs, 1 mo., 7 days.
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3. Ben Spies
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Age 22 yrs., 2 mos., 20 days.
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4. Troy Corser
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Age 22 yrs., 9 mos., 22 days.
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5. Wayne Rainey
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Age 22 yrs., 10 mos. 25 days.
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Youngest rider to win second AMA Superbike Champion
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1. Fred Merkel
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Age 22 yrs., 11 mos. 27 days.
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2. Ben Spies
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Age 23 yrs., 2 mos., 5 days.
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3. Wes Cooley
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Age 24 yrs., 3 mos., 8 days.
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4. Eddie Lawson
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Age 24 yrs., 7 mos.
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5. Wayne Rainey
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Age 26 yrs., 10 mos., 7 days.
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Youngest rider to 10 AMA Superbike wins
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1. Nicky Hayden
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Age 20 yrs., 8 mos., 8 days.
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2. Freddie Spencer
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Age 21 yrs., 2 mos. 22 days.
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3. Fred Merkel
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Age 21 yrs., 11 mos. 12 days.
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4. Ben Spies
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Age 22 yrs., 24 days.
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5. Wayne Rainey
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Age 25 yrs., 7 mos. 21 days.
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Youngest rider to 20 AMA Superbike wins
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1. Ben Spies
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Age 23 yrs., 9 mos. 16 days.
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2. Fred Merkel
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Age 23 yrs., 10 mos., 5 days.
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3. Miguel Duhamel
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Age 30 yrs., 11 mos. 7 days.
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4. Mat Mladin
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Age 31 yrs., 2 mos., 28 days.
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Fastest to 10 AMA Superbike wins
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1. Eddie Lawson
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21 starts
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2. Freddie Spencer
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22 starts
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3. Fred Merkel
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23 starts
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4. (tie) Mike Baldwin
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28 starts
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5. Wayne Rainey
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28 starts
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6. Anthony Gobert
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29 starts
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7. Ben Spies
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31 starts
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8. Nicky Hayden
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33 starts
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9. Doug Polen
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37 starts
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10. Scott Russell
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38 starts
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11. Miguel Duhamel
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42 starts
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12. Mat Mladin
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51 starts
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13. Eric Bostrom
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63 starts
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14. Doug Chandler
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73 starts
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Fastest to 20 AMA Superbike wins
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1. Fred Merkel
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44 starts
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2. Ben Spies
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60 starts
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3. Miguel Duhamel
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67 starts
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4. Mat Mladin
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94 starts
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Most wins in a single season
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1. Mat Mladin
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12 (2007)
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2. Mat Mladin
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11 (2005)
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3. (tie) Ben Spies 10 (2006 & 2007), Mat Mladin 10 (2003), Fred Merkel
(1984).
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10
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AMA Superbike winning percentage (minimum of 5 wins)
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1. Eddie Lawson
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0.466
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2. Kevin Schwantz
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0.428
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3. Wayne Rainey
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0.38
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4. Ben Spies
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0.373
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5. Nicky Hayden
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0.369
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6. Mat Mladin
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0.358
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7. Fed Merkel
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0.333
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8. Freddie Spencer
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0.272
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9. Mike Baldwin
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0.263
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10. Anthony Gobert
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0.234
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AMA Superbike podium percentage (minimum of 10 podiums)
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1. Ben Spies
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0.921
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2. Eddie Lawson
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0.774
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3. Wayne Rainey
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0.714
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4. Bubba Shobert
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0.681
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5. Mat Mladin
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0.672
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6. Nicky Hayden
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0.652
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7. Kevin Schwantz
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0.636
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8. Fred Merkel
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0.623
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9. Wes Cooley
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0.552
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10. Mike Baldwin
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0.55
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All-time AMA Superbike wins
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1. Mat Mladin
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72
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2. Miguel Duhamel
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32
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3. Ben Spies
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28
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4. Fred Merkel
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20
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5. Nicky Hayden
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17
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Longest AMA Superbike winning streaks
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1. Ben Spies
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7 races
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2. (tie) Ben Spies, Mat Mladin, Wayne Rainey
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6 races
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3. Wayne Rainey
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5 races
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AMA Superbike poles
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1. Mat Mladin
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55 poles
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2. Ben Spies
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24
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3. Doug Polen
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18
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4. Freddie Spencer
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17
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5. Wayne Rainey
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15
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