Rennie Scaysbrook | October 18, 2023
At a glittering event held within the confines of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, the covers were taken off a new team that will compete in the 2024 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship.
Some eight years after his original BMW MotoAmerica team fell through the cracks in 2016, IndyCar star and member of American automotive racing royalty, Graham Rahal, will finally realize his dream of fielding a two-wheeled team to race in America’s premier motorcycle racing series.
A successful Ducati dealer in Indianapolis and Cleveland, Rahal’s entry into the series will see another top-flight Ducati team running the Panigale V2, this one usurping the factory effort with a two-bike team sponsored by automotive paint protection company, Xpel.
From left: MotoAmerica CEO, Wayne Rainey, former IndyCar and Indy 500 Champion, Bobby Rahal, former WorldSBK and AMA Champion, Ben Spies, Expel Vice President of Corporate Development, Michael Mayall, team owner and current IndyCar star, Graham Rahal.
“The love of Ducati goes back a long way for me,” Rahal said. “When I was a little kid, Dad (Bobby) always had whatever the latest Ducati was. The 996, the 998, and so on. It was ingrained in my head, the Ducati and what it sounded like, what it looked like. They were always yellow, ironically. So when Expel came on board, it was the perfect culmination of my love and ironically my favorite color on a Ducati to then put together the Expel yellow on these bikes, to see the Panigale V2.
“With Ducati Indianapolis and Ducati Cleveland, which are my two stores, we believe in racing and winning on Sunday, then selling on Monday. So, for us, this was the perfect way to continue to grow our brands and our connection with Expel through my company, Rahal Paint Protection, and through our car dealerships, Bob Rahal Motor Group.”
The Rahal Ducati Moto team will be headed by new Team Principle, five-time AMA Superbike and 2009 WorldSBK Champion, Ben Spies. Spies, who admits to having a little too much time on his hands following his retirement from competition a decade ago, will return to the paddock full-time in 2024 with the aim of bringing the team to Superbike in the coming years.
“I’m really excited about it. Nervous, but excited,” Spies said. “I haven’t had a job like this before. I was the rider, so it was a little bit easier. When we started talking about it, I knew the opportunity was great. I always loved to work with the riders. I’ll be the Team Principal, working mainly with the riders on the weekends as well as team invitations, sponsors, and of course, rider coaching.
When pressed on just who will be on the bikes that will run the 19 Spies took to the WorldSBK Championship title or the 15 that Graham Rahal uses in the IndyCar series, Ben was tight lipped.
“We’re close. Deciding two really good riders right now for the 15 and the 19. Can’t say it yet, but we’re excited about it.”
MotoAmerica CEO Wayne Rainey knows any new team that comes to the series is a boost for the paddock, but to finally get the Rahal signature on his books is a serious feather in MotoAmerica’s cap.
“This is something that me and my partners, Richard, Terry, and Chuck have been dreaming about, having the iconic name of Rahal in our paddock,” Rainey said. “You can hear their passion about all the work that it took to get here. I was just at Yellowstone with my wife on vacation, but I was getting messages from Graham about how important it was to get a certain number for his bike. I just thought that passion and desire to have a presence, to look good on the starting line, was very important.
“I think what they’re going to bring from their racing experience and their heritage, I think they’re going to raise the profile of what MotoAmerica is. They’re going to help all the teams that are currently in the paddock. They want to get there in a hurry, so when they show up at Daytona, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re on the podium and maybe even win that thing. It will be fun to watch.”
We’ll have the news as to who will ride the new yellow Rahal Ducati Moto machines once it breaks.
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