Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1510207
Rahal Ducati Moto Coming To MotoAmerica A t a glittering event held at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, the covers were taken off a new team that will compete in the 2024 MotoAmeri- ca 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 in America's premier motorcycle racing series. A successful Ducati dealer in Indianapolis and Cleveland, Ra - hal'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. "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, ironical - ly. So when Xpel came on board, it was the perfect culmination of my love and, ironically, my favor- ite color on a Ducati to then put together the Xpel 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 con - tinue to grow our brands and our connection with Xpel 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 Super - bike and 2009 WorldSBK Cham- pion Ben Spies. Spies, who ad- mits 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. Ner - vous but excited," Spies said. "I haven't had a job like this before. I was the rider, so it was a little bit WIND IN THE P22 WIND (L-R) MotoAmerica CEO Wayne Rainey, former IndyCar and Indy 500 Champion Bobby Rahal, former WorldSBK and AMA Champion Ben Spies, Xpel Vice President of Corporate Development Michael Mayall and team owner and current IndyCar star Graham Rahal.