To say that Graham Rahal and his team have had a busy couple of weeks would be an understatement. Rahal, the team owner of the Rahal Ducati Moto squad, gave the MotoAmerica Championship a bit of a shake up with a somewhat shocking last-minute addition to his MotoAmerica team.
The rider? None other than two-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Herrin. Yes, the same Josh Herrin who is fresh off two seasons in which he won 13 MotoAmerica Superbike races while winning the 2024 championship and finishing second in the 2025 battle. For 2026, Herrin will go back to the Supersport class as part of what is now a four-rider Rahal Ducati Moto team.
And if the Herrin/Rahal shocker wasn’t enough to keep the IndyCar driver/team owner busy, it came right on the heels of the news that the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team had signed former F1 driver Mick Schumacher to an IndyCar contract.
“For me, when we add somebody like Josh (Herrin) to the equation, this came up only a few days ago,” Rahal said in a video self-interview featured on his social media channels. “In essence, it was like, ‘Hey, there’s an opportunity here.” Ben (Spies) and I talked. I talked to Tom (Campion, Rahal Ducati Moto’s technical director). I talked to Grace (Keever, the team’s team manager). I talked to everybody at our team. Should we or should we not do this? We felt… why would you pass up on Josh Herrin? If there’s an opportunity to go get Josh Herrin, one of the most recognizable, one of the most successful Americans in the last 20 years, you’re going to go do that. He brings a lot of notoriety, brings a lot of awareness to our team, but also to the sport. He’s an asset to MotoAmerica. He’s bold. He’s energetic. He’s unapologetic. He’s all the things that I like, the way that I feel like I am in many ways. He aligns perfectly with Desnuda (Tequila, the sponsor of Herrin’s Ducati Panigale V2). When the opportunity came, I called Phil (Williams, the founder of Droplight) right away and Joe (also a founder of Droplight), and everybody at Desnuda and Droplight. We thought, ‘this is a match made in heaven. Let’s get after it. Let’s find a way to make this happen.’ Within a matter of three hours, we had found the funding that was necessary for this deal to happen.”
When Rahal introduced his team prior to the 2024 MotoAmerica season, he stated that his goal was to have a Ducati Panigale V4 R under his awning in the MotoAmerica Superbike series. For 2026, he’s made that a reality with PJ Jacobsen set to move up to the 2026 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship. So, when Rahal says the new goal is to have two Superbikes on the grid in 2027, you have to believe him. So far, the man has put his money where his mouth is.
He (Josh Herrin) brings a lot of notoriety, brings a lot of awareness to our team, but also to the sport. He’s an asset to MotoAmerica. He’s bold. He’s energetic. He’s unapologetic. – Graham Rahal
“We felt that with PJ (Jacobsen) moving up… PJ has been wonderful for us. He’s been a star of RDM since the day that RDM began. That’s not going to change. PJ’s my guy. He knows that. We got him in Superbike. Our objective is to have multiple Superbikes. So, if people are wondering, why would Josh (Herrin) go back to a V2 (Ducati’s Supersport entry)? Of course, with Supersport, that’s where we have a fit today. We believe Josh can go and win a championship there, as we do with Kayla (Yaakov) and Alessandro (Di Mario) in short time. But ultimately this was about adding to the program. We felt that Josh really does that. We felt that this team really does that. I’m pretty pumped up today. I’m fired up. It’s guys like Ben Spies, who now has become a close friend, and obviously a partner in all of this, that inspired me to do this.
“It’s guys like Ben (Spies) that I grew up idolizing. I’ve told the stories a million times. My love of motorcycles and two-wheels started as a little kid on the backroads in Ohio. All I wanted, all I dreamt of was someday owning a Ducati, let alone owning a dealership, let alone owning this race team. I grew up watching guys, idolizing guys like Wayne Rainey and watching guys like Ben and Nicky Hayden and these guys hit the worldwide scene. So, for me, it’s been an honor to be able to be a part of this sport. It’s been an honor to be able to help do some positives in this sport. I do believe that when we show up at Daytona, that we’ve got four really good bullets in our gun to go win this thing.
“I do believe that when we show up at Daytona, that we’ve got four really good bullets in our gun to go win this thing” – Graham Rahal
“All we want is for there to be a healthy MotoAmerica. All that we want is for our four riders to be given an equal chance to win, whether it’s Superbike or Supersport. We want Josh (Herrin) and PJ (Jacobsen) to continue to help Alessandro (Di Mario) and help Kayla (Yaakov), who we believe is the biggest star, frankly, in the making in MotoAmerica. We’re going to do everything we can to make that possible. Today was a huge day for Rahal Ducati Moto. I’m extremely proud of Kayla. I’m extremely proud of Alessandro and PJ, the way that they handled the news. I’m proud of Grace (Keever) and all that she has done as our new team manager, and Tom (Campion).”
Rahal also announced that the Rahal Ducati Moto team will move its operation out of the Indianapolis dealership and into the workshop that is home to the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team, which is also located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
