IN
THE
WIND
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IS BEN SPIES COMING BACK TO RACING?
T
he 2009 WorldSBK and
three-time AMA Pro Super-
bike Champion Ben Spies is
rumored to be planning a return
to racing, four years after he
retired due to extensive shoulder
damage suffered when riding
for Pramac Ducati in MotoGP in
2013.
Spies recently posted a photo
with his HJC #11 helmet and Al-
pinestars gloves with the caption
"Let's see if I can still do this…"
on Instagram, and has been
spending lots of time off-road
riding in an effort to regain some
bike fitness.
It's unlikely Spies is planning a
return to European competition,
with his various business inter-
ests in the restaurant industry
and the fact he's recently be-
come a father, meaning he is
more likely planning a return to
the MotoAmerica paddock, one
in which he dominated alongside
arch rival Mat Mladin in the mid-
2000s on the factory Yoshimura
Suzukis.
The return of 33-year-old
Spies to the AMA paddock would
be a huge boost for the Wayne
Rainey-run MotoAmerica organi-
zation, as they seek to further im-
prove the stature of a series that
was all but decimated when the
Daytona Motorsports Group ran
the championship from 2009-
2013. CN
ERNESTO MARINELLI TO LEAVE DUCATI
A
fter spending 22 years of his 44 years working inside Ducati
Corse, Ernesto Marinelli has quit his role as Ducati's WorldS-
BK project manager to find a new challenge. But not with another
manufacturer.
Tight-lipped about where he will end up, and most probably
contractually obligated not to say until he leaves Ducati at the end
of the calendar year, Marinelli stated from his native Italy, "It was
getting harder and harder every year with the travel, plus I got a
nice opportunity that is quite challenging and not comparable to
what I am doing now. When you put it all together, now is the time
to change and change the life. If not, I would be doing what I was
doing until I retired. I decided to leave Ducati but it was a hard
decision. I like everyone in Ducati. I am 44 now and I have been there since I was 22."
For now, with the WorldSBK riders' championship itself out of reach, Marinelli—Ernie
to all his friends—wants to leave a nice goodbye before he starts off down a new road.
"We have four races to try to win, also for my friends. I start a new challenge on January
1. It is not appropriate to say what I am going to do and I am Ducati 100% until the end of
the season."
Gordon Ritchie
Ernesto
Marinelli has
been critical
to Ducati's
success in
WorldSBK
for the last
20 seasons.
Ben Spies has been hinting at a
racing return. Let's hope we see it!
