Ben Spies will be missing out on riding at Valencia due to the long recovery period following his surgery after the crash at Malaysia. Yamaha Factory Racing has moved to substitute Spies with Japanese rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga for the Valencia Grand Prix. Nakasuga also substituted for Lorenzo in last years’ Grand Prix at Valencia.
Nakasuga tryst with Factory YZR-M1 includes a sixth place finish when riding for Lorenzo at Valencia last year. This year he finished 9th in the Grand Prix of Japan with the Yamaha YSP Racing Team