Ben Spies

Spies began racing 50cc motorcycles at age five, signing with Suzuki in 2000 at fifteen. He won the AMA Formula Xtreme Championship for American Suzuki in 2003 with five victories. By 2005 he was competitive in AMA Superbike, finishing runner-up for the title.

In 2006 Spies joined Yoshimura Suzuki and won the AMA Superbike Championship with ten victories, including six consecutive wins early in the season, defeating six-time series champion Mat Mladin by eight points. He successfully defended the title in 2007 in the tightest championship in series history, beating Mladin by a single point with seven wins. In 2008 he took a third consecutive AMA Superbike title — joining Reg Pridmore, Fred Merkel, and Mat Mladin as the only riders to accomplish three straight titles — including an AMA record of seven successive victories.

On 1 October 2008, it was confirmed that Spies would compete in the 2009 Superbike World Championship for the factory Yamaha Italia team. He took pole position at his first race meeting and won Race 2 to become the first American to win a World Superbike race since Colin Edwards in 2002. He won both races at the second round in Qatar and continued his form throughout the season, breaking the long-standing record of six consecutive pole positions set in 1991 by Doug Polen — reaching eleven poles in his rookie season, a record at the time. At the final round in Portimão, Spies was crowned the 2009 Superbike World Champion after winning Race 1, becoming champion in just his first full WSBK season, six points ahead of Noriyuki Haga.

Yamaha confirmed on 1 October 2009 that Spies would replace James Toseland at Tech3 Yamaha for the 2010 MotoGP season. He scored his first podium at Silverstone with a third place and took second from pole at home at Indianapolis, finishing the season sixth overall and claiming Rookie of the Year honours.

Spies was promoted to the factory Yamaha Motor Racing Team for 2011 alongside 2010 champion Jorge Lorenzo, filling the seat vacated by Valentino Rossi who moved to Ducati. At the Dutch TT at Assen, Spies qualified second behind Marco Simoncelli. At the race start Spies and Lorenzo jumped ahead of Simoncelli; Lorenzo and Simoncelli later made contact and both fell, giving Spies a 2.5-second lead after the opening lap. He extended the advantage to nearly eight seconds and took his first and only MotoGP victory. He followed that win with five consecutive top-five finishes. Spies finished fifth in the championship for 2011. His season ended early after crashes at the Australian and Malaysian Grand Prix, the latter race having seen him qualify sixteenth due to practice injuries.

Spies remained at the factory Yamaha team for 2012, finishing in the top five three times in succession at Silverstone, Assen, and the Sachsenring. A crash in Malaysia injured him and ended his season early; he finished tenth in the standings. Yamaha announced on 24 July that he would leave the factory team to make way for Rossi's return. He signed with Pramac Racing Ducati for 2013 but suffered recurring injuries throughout the season, making only limited appearances. On 26 October 2013, during the Japanese Grand Prix weekend at Motegi, Spies announced his retirement from motorcycle racing, citing permanent shoulder injuries sustained in two debilitating crashes.

On 18 October 2023, Spies was named team principal of a new MotoAmerica Supersport team — Rahal Ducati Moto — owned by INDYCAR driver Graham Rahal. The team is planned to expand to four motorcycles, including a Superbike entry, for the 2026 season.

Ben Spies stands as one of the most decorated American motorcycle racers of the modern era. His three AMA Superbike titles and his 2009 WSBK championship — won in his first full season at that level — mark him as a rider of exceptional talent who transferred to a new category and dominated immediately, a feat few have matched. His MotoGP career never reached those same heights, with injuries curtailing what promised to be a significant run at the front, but his single victory at Assen in 2011 demonstrated that at his best he was capable of beating anyone in the paddock.