Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Yamaha Motor Corporation introduced its 2003 racing teams to members of the motorsports media Thursday, November 21 at Dromo One, a go-kart racetrack near Yamaha’s U.S. headquarters in Cypress, California.

While journalists, Yamaha’s racers and crew members teamed up for a 200-minute go-kart endurance race, Roadracingworld.com sat down with Keith McCarty, Yamaha Division Manager for Racing. We asked McCarty about his 2003 road racing line-up, which will see Damon Buckmaster, Aaron Gobert and Jamie Hacking race in Supersport on factory Yamaha YZF-R6s and in Formula Xtreme on Graves Yamaha YZF-R1s; while 18-year-old Jason DiSalvo will ride an R6 in Supersport and Superstock.

“The rider line-up is awesome, said McCarty. “They’re all a great group of guys. They should get a long really well, and the team’s going to give them 100 percent.

“Damon (Buckmaster) has rode for us for a couple of years now, done a really good job. He’s fallen short of the Formula Xtreme Championship, but I thought he really matured this year a lot. He really did well at Mid-Ohio and had some really good races to put himself in that Championship hunt after some bad luck. He did a really good job, but unfortunately things didn’t work out for him. We really look for good things. We know he can get the job done, it’s just a matter having all of the pieces right.

“Aaron (Gobert), we were really motivated the year before, after Virginia. He won that last race (2000 season) in Formula Xtreme and looked really good. I was really excited, testing was going good in (2002) pre-season and Daytona, having that big accident just took him out of the year. Really the goal was to get him back on the bike, get him strong. Even when you’re riding it takes six months to get ready. He’s been working very hard, getting himself physically fit because it’s a demanding job. Things should go very well for him, and I know he’s excited to be back.

“Jamie Hacking. What can you say? The guy’s done some great things the last couple of years. He did great things even before that on a Yamaha. We feel like we needed to have some sort of a leader guy on our team. He goes right for it right from the beginning. So it’s a good target for everybody to shoot for lap-time-wise. He’s maturing. Every year he’s learning a little bit more, learning when to slow down and when he needs to win and that. So I think this should be a very good season for him. He’s very comfortable at Yamaha as well.

“Jason DiSalvo, he’s a young, talented guy coming up. He’s got a lot of potential, a lot of desire. His family supports himself 100 percent. We’re really lucky to have him here. He’s excited to have the group of guys he’s got to ride with and learn with, and he’s got ideas of his own. He’s not waiting for anybody to show him anything. He wants to get out there and go.”

When asked about the decision to enter DiSalvo in Superstock, formerly known as 750cc Supersport, on his R6, McCarty said, “We feel the new R6 is going to be a competitive bike, and Jason certainly rides it very well. Track time is what it’s all about for the young guys. We’ve got to get them out there racing. You learn so much every lap you’re out there, every race you’re in. That’s what it’s all about, going to school and continuing to learn.

“We would love to be (in Superbike),” explained McCarty on Yamaha’s lack of a 2003 Superbike class effort. “We had some meetings with the AMA. We gave them what we thought would be an equitable program for this year.

“It’s a transition year for everybody, you know, with the rules changing to allow 1000cc Fours. We thought there was a bit of an advantage for some of the guys out there that continued to race things that they’ve already tested and they know what they’ve got. We wanted to be there on a 1000 R1, but the AMA did a different deal with the rules. So we’re going to do what we sell. We sell R6s right now.

“We talked to these (AMA) guys and told them what we needed to have, what we thought was fair and equitable for everybody to make good racing. Nobody wants to spend this kind of money and not have a chance. The AMA wants us to fill the field. That’s understandable, but we don’t want to be back there in 10th place for nothing. We want to go where we feel we have a chance to win against everybody.

“They made some rules…I guess a few people are going to try to over-bore a 750 to race in that class. I think it’s a silly thing to do myself, but they made the decision. We made ours, no hard feelings.”

Were you tempted at all to enter a YZF-R1 in Superbike? “No,” stated McCarty. “You’ve got to look at it that with the way the rules are a Formula Xtreme (bike) can have more modifications than the (Superbike) rule package they put together (allows). There’s no way we would want to go with that rules package with no chassis, no anything, trying to compete against guys who have been there for three years on the same bikes. It’s silly. I don’t think that makes for good television. It certainly doesn’t make for good racing.”