Spies announces retirement

Spies joined the Ducati satellite Ignite Pramac Racing Team outfit at the start of this season on a two-year contract, but had ridden only two races due to injury. In an official release, the decision to terminate the contract a year early was described as a mutual one between the 29-year-old Texan and Ducati Corse.

Spies injured his shoulder at last year's Malaysian MotoGP round, and, still in pain after rounds 1 and 2, elected to sit out as many rounds as it took to regain full fitness. Finally making his return at Indianapolis' round 10, Spies crashed in practise, severely dislocating his right shoulder and ending his season.

Rumours of the 2009 World Superbike champion's retirement from MotoGP were circulating back in September, but the American's decision was only confirmed at the weekend's Motegi round, following doubts about his physical ability to race next year.

"I had such high hopes for racing for Ducati, and Ducati has been incredibly supportive of me during this challenging year, so I am tremendously disappointed that I have not been able to fulfill my personal goals and team goals with Ducati," Spies said in the official Ducati Corse release.

"I want to thank everyone from racing organizations, factories, teams and all my fans for helping me and supporting me throughout my career. I never dreamed that I would reach the level of success that I have over the past 20 years of racing, but the time has come to stop and I do so with great sadness."

Spies' manager/mother Mary Spies added: "Wherever Ben has raced over the years—from AMA Superbike to World Superbike to MotoGP—he has always felt the warmth and appreciation of the organizers, circuits, teams and fans. We are so grateful to them for their support."

Ducati MotoGP Project Director Paolo Ciabatti declared: "We had high expectations when Ben joined Ducati in MotoGP this year, and we really hoped that he would fully recover from his Indianapolis crash injuries and continue to race for us in the future.

"However we understand the reasons for his decision and respect them. It is really a shame for our sport that Ben will not be racing anymore, because in our opinion he is one of the most talented riders in the world. We will miss him and wish him all the best for his future life."

images: motogp.com, Ducati Corse