Ben Spies will finally return to action at the Indianapolis Speedway, after missing the better part of the season recovering from a pectoral muscle issue that occured during the COTA round last April.
The American rider is finally 100% fit and free from pain, and he’ll be suprising fans on Thursday at the Brickyard, when instead of climbing back on his Ducati Desmosedici, he’ll be drag racing a specially modified Ducati Diavel.
According to Cycle World, the Diavel, that will have a special red, white and blue, Texas-themed paint job that was created by Spies, will later be auctioned at the inaugural AIMExpo in Orlando, Florida, with proceeds going injured racer Dave Stanton (he suffered a permanent spine injury at Thunderhill in June and is now paralyzed from the waist down) who is a longtime friend of Spies and his crew chief, Tom Houseworth.
The Diavel has been modified by Advanced Motorsports Ducati Dallas and has been fitted with numerous new parts to make it 40 pounds lighter and the machine has gained 25hp over the stock version.