Ben Spies has officially hung up his helmet following an injury-filled year.

Former World and multiple-time American Superbike Champion Ben Spies announced his retirement during the Japanese Grand Prix over the weekend.

After an injury-filled 2013 MotoGP campaign, Ducati has agreed to release Spies from the second year of his Pramac Racing contract.

Spies has been battling shoulder injuries since the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix, undergoing multiple surgeries in a bid to regain 100 percent fitness.

“I had such high hopes for racing for Ducati and Ducati has been incredibly supportive of me during this challenging year,” the 29-year-old explained. “So I am tremendously disappointed that I have not been able to fulfill my personal goals and team goals with Ducati.

“I want to thank everyone from racing organizations, factories, teams and all my fans for helping me and supporting me throughout my career. I never dreamed that I would reach the level of success that I have over the past 20 years of racing, but the time has come to stop and I do so with great sadness.”

Ducati MotoGP project director Paolo Ciabatti wished Spies the best of luck in his post-racing career.

“We had high expectations when Ben joined Ducati in MotoGP this year and we really hoped that he would fully recover from his injuries and continue to race for us in the future,” he said.

“However we understand the reasons for his decision and respect them. It is really a shame for our sport that Ben will not be racing anymore, because in our opinion he is one of the most talented riders in the world.

“We will miss him and wish him all the best for his future life.”