The Texan whirlwind, Ben Spies, has been handed a wild card entry to the last leg of the 2009 MotoGP championship at Valencia
The 25 year old is set to race his first season in MotoGP next year, after taking to the World Superbike realms like a duck to water.
The GP wild card has offered Spies a headstart for next year, as the winter testing times have been severely restricted and thus will prevent him getting as much track time as he would like on his new machine.
Nevertheless, the Valencia leg which takes place on 6th to 8th November will be a hot talking point for many MotoGP enthusiasts as they speculate how Spies will compare to his outgoing predecessor, James Toseland.
Spies is set to replace the floundering Toseland who, after two years in the MotoGP ranks, has failed to amass a podium finish.