Sterilgarda Yamaha's Ben Spies reckons he is expecting a tough time racing in Ducati's backyard at Imola this weekend but says he is there to win at a track he knows.

The American three-time AMA Champion, who is tipped to join Monster Yamaha in MotoGP next year, says the mid-season test in Italy provided plenty of useful data.

“I’m looking forward to riding on a track we’ve tested at again. I feel we should have a good weekend coming up as we have a lot of data to go on, we got a lot accomplished at the test," said Spies.

"We don’t have as big a lead as we would like but I’ve been in this situation before, it’s not so strange for me. As far as I’m concerned, we’re going to Imola to try and win two races.

"We know this is Ducati’s back yard and the past has been pretty good for them, so it will be tough. Having said that we have some good stuff worked out with the bike and the team has been continuing to develop so I’m confident we can pull in some good results.”