Breaker, breaker, got your ears on, Europe?

American Ben Spies awoke this morning to the news that he will officially be a Wild Card rider at both of the USGPs held in the US this season—Laguna Seca and Indy—and also will ride at the Indy USGP MotoGP test this summer.

The 23-year old American Superbike champion is heavily rumored to be making a switch to MotoGP for 2009. There are rumors that Suzuki, which has never run more than two motorcycles in GP in the modern era, will break with tradition and run three bikes in 2009. If so, Spies could be on a third Suzuki. Moreover, rumors persist that there is interest in Spies from other MotoGP teams.

"I'm excited," Spies said via cell phone from Northern California. "It's the next step. Someone said to me a few weeks ago, I can't remember who, that in just three seasons we have tied for third on the all-time Superbike win list. That's amazing to me and I'm gratified."

"You know, my goals in racing used to be three things," Spies explained, "one, just to get a factory ride. And then to just win races on a factory bike. And then, for me, I just wanted to become the rider with the most wins of all the classes in AMA racing. I never really thought about GP that much, other than watching Schwantz, Rainey and Doohan battle it out in the early 1990s. I guess a side of me wanted to one day go GP racing, yeah."

"I hope that people get behind me on these wild card rides," Spies said. "It's good for me and it's also good for America and for AMA. I think maybe some people discount how good the riders are over here in the AMA. Myself, I'd put the top six AMA riders on par with just about any from anywhere in any series. There's a lot of talent here and I hope I can do well and make us proud. I think that the fans will cheer me on and also my fellow riders here in AMA will too."

Spies' presumed departure from AMA Superbike in 2009 would normally open up a very hotly-contested vacancy on the Suzuki team. The Tom Houseworth-led crew knows how to win races and championships, and that would certainly translate well to another rider. However, with drastic change happening to the series for 2009—liter bikes and 600cc Superbikes—it's a viable question as to whether Suzuki will be supporting the same level of effort. For Spies, though, the immediate and long-term futures seem bright.