The racebikes of Mojo Yamaha Team USA are on their way to Australia in preparation for the 2020 International Island Classic January 24-26 at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.
Mojo Yamaha Team USA leader Dave Crussell took the accompanying photo Sunday, before loading his fleet of Yamahas into a shipping container, which was picked up today.
“What you’re looking at there is the Mojo Yamaha team for the International Island Classic,” Crussell told Roadracingworld.com Monday. “What we have there is five CMR F1 chassis with big FJ1200/1300 engines in them and two Yamaha TZ750s.”
Identifying the motorcycles in the photo starting at the far left, Crussell said, “The #17 TZ750 is mine. Then the black bike is a CMR FJ that will be ridden by Taylor Knapp. The next one is another TZ750, and that one will be ridden by Melissa Paris. The number four bike at the back is a CMR FJ, and that’s Josh Hayes’ bike, the one he used to win Race Four in 2019. The next one around in the orange and white is another CMR FJ, and that one is going to be ridden by Jordan Szoke. The next one is the blue bike, another CMR FJ, and that one will be ridden by Larry Pegram. And the last one, in bumble bee yellow, is another CMR FJ, and that one will be ridden by Michael Gilbert.”
Asked about his thoughts and expectations ahead of the vintage racing event, Crussell said, “I think we have the strongest team we’ve ever had. I think our bikes are better than they were last year.
“This has been a journey for us. Every year we’ve invested in riders and invested in bikes. We’ve put a lot of efforts into our bikes this year. We’ve done a lot of testing through the year. We tested at Willow Springs, Chuckwalla, and at Miller [Utah Motorsports Campus].
“We’ve really been listening to the riders about how they sit on the bike, the ergonomics of the riding positions, the weight bias. And we’ve also worked on getting all of the bikes upgraded with more power, more revs, and making them generally faster all around.”
For more information on the International Island Classic January 24-26 at Phillip Island, go to www.islandclassic.com.au.
