Yamaha Achieves Unprecedented “Grand Slam” In MotoAmerica’s Inaugural Season

Cypress, CA – September 24, 2015 – Hitting a “Grand Slam” is fairly uncommon in baseball, it was a rare feat back in the days when flat track racing and road racing made up the old AMA Grand National Championship, and up until 2015, it was absolutely unprecedented in AMA professional road racing. But, in the inaugural year of the MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Motorcycle Road Racing Championship, Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. and its bLU cRU riders achieved the “Grand Slam,” winning Championships in all four of MotoAmerica’s professional road racing classes: Superbike, Superstock 1000, Supersport, and Superstock 600.

“Never before has a single motorcycle manufacturer won every Championship in all of the AMA/FIM-sanctioned professional road racing classes in one year,” commented Keith McCarty, “But, that’s what our Yamaha bLU cRU riders and teams did in MotoAmerica this year. We not only went four for four in Championships, but we also had a perfect season in race wins. Our riders won every race at every MotoAmerica round in 2015. No other manufacturer has ever done that before. It’s quite an accomplishment, and all of us at Yamaha are extremely proud, especially since we accomplished the feat during Yamaha’s 60th Anniversary as a company.”

All told, Yamaha bLU cRU riders won a grand total of 64 individual races in MotoAmerica competition.

In MotoAmerica’s premier class, Superbike, Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha’s Josh Hayes won 10 races, while his teammate and 2015 MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier won eight races, completing a perfect season for the brand-new 2015 Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike.

RoadRace Factory/Orion/Yamaha’s Jake Gagne won the lion’s share of the races in MotoAmerica Superstock 1000. Aboard his #32 Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock machine, Jake notched 13 victories in winning the 2015 MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 Championship. Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Josh Day won three races in Superstock 1000, including a double win at Miller Motorsports Park. TOBC racing’s Taylor Knapp and Ryders Alley Racing’s Mark Heckles each won one race to complete the Yamaha R1 sweep in MotoAmerica’s Superstock 1000 class.

In MotoAmerica Supersport, Yamalube/Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha rider JD Beach captured the Championship on the strength of the eight Supersport victories he notched aboard his #95 Yamaha YZF-R6, while Wheels In Motion/MotoSport.com/Meen Yamaha rider Josh Herrin won four races. JD’s teammate Garrett Gerloff notched two Supersport victories, and Josh’s teammate Joe Roberts, who moved up to the Supersport class for the last three races of the season, took home one victory.

And, in Superstock 600, Wheels In Motion/MotoSport.com/Meen Yamaha rider Joe Roberts dominated the class with nine race wins, while Escalante Racing’s Richie Escalante, Kyle Wyman Racing’s Travis Wyman, HB Racing’s Michael Gilbert, and Tuned Racing’s Bryce Prince each carded one win apiece.

Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., congratulates all the bLU cRU riders who won races in MotoAmerica competition this year and extends its sincerest thanks to all the teams, crew members, and families for helping contribute to Yamaha’s unprecedented Grand Slam.

For more Yamaha racing news, results, photos, and videos, visit www.YamahaMotorsports.com/Racing

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