Ben Spies apologises after 'pathetic' race

Having sunk to eleventh with massive race-night chatter in Qatar, Ben Spies had been looking to restart his season in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez.

The signs were good after qualifying sixth on the grid, but race day saw another shock decline.

While Factory Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo battled Casey Stoner for victory, Spies plummeted to eleventh place within seven laps, where he remained to the finish.

"I don't really know what happened," confessed Spies. "I got off to a pretty good start from the line but after that I didn't have a good feeling with the bike, it was a pretty pathetic race really for me.

"I've apologized to the team and we've had a long meeting about what I was feeling with the bike.

"I just wasn't comfortable, I rode as hard as I could but the speed just wasn't there. We need to find something because we can see the Yamahas are working well but my feeling with the bike is not great. It was a bad day at the office today."