Via MotoGP.com

Ben Spies’ solid debut season in MotoGP has been rewarded with confirmation that the American will ride for the factory Yamaha team in 2011. Having tested the early 2011 M1 prototype at the official Brno test Yamaha Motor Racing MD Lin Jarvis confirmed that talks were underway to bring the 26 year-old across from Hervé Poncharal’s satellite team.

The form of Spies in his first season in the premier class has seen him take a podium finish at Silverstone and impress with strong results throughout the ten rounds to date, and in seventh position he is currently the highest placed rookie and satellite rider in the Championship standings.

"We're delighted that Ben will join the factory team for next season," said Jarvis. "Ben has shown great promise in his first ten MotoGP races. He has learnt rapidly and recorded strong results, including a well-deserved podium finish at Silverstone - impressive for someone in their first full season.”

Read the whole story over at Motogp.com