Yamaha bLU cRU Riders Complete Successful MotoAmerica Preseason Test At Circuit of The Americas

Austin, TX – March 30, 2017 – Two-time and defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier, defending MotoAmerica Supersport Champion Garrett Gerloff, and their respective teammates, four-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes and 2015 MotoAmerica Supersport Champion JD Beach participated in the MotoAmerica Preseason Test powered by Dunlop Motorcycle Tires, held on Tuesday and Wednesday at the 3.426-mile, 20-turn Circuit of The Americas (COTA) road course in Austin, TX.

Garrett and JD were both aboard their brand-new-for-2017 Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Extended Service (Y.E.S.)/Graves/Yamaha YZF-R6 Supersport machines, and Garrett recorded the fastest overall Supersport laptime of the Test, along with the fastest laptime that he’s ever recorded at COTA. His teammate JD also had a successful outing at COTA as he was third-fastest Supersport rider overall and just .016-second off the second-fastest Supersport laptime at the test.

Meanwhile, in Superbike, Cameron sported stylish red, white, and blue #1 plates on his Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing YZF-R1, and his laptimes reflected his two-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion status. He concluded the test as the quickest rider overall on race tires. Cameron’s teammate Josh ended up fourth overall at the Test.

Both Cameron and Josh, as well as Garrett and JD, tested several sets of Dunlop tires in various compounds, while working on their settings for the season-opening race at COTA next month.

“We tested at a couple of tracks over the winter,” Cameron said, “but there’s nothing like coming to COTA for this official MotoAmerica Preseason Test because we know we’ll be back here in a little less than a month for the start of our season. I feel great about my R1 Superbike and all the Dunlop tires we tested, and I’m confident that I have solid setup for the race. So, all in all, it was a very successful Test for our team, and I know that Josh felt the same way.”

“I really enjoy coming here for this MotoAmerica Preseason Test,” Garrett commented. “And not just because I’m a Texan and don’t live too far from here. We did some testing on the brand-new 2017 R6 over the past couple of months, but COTA is unique. It’s unlike any of the tracks that we tested at during the off-season. It’s so valuable to get some seat time here before the start of the season, especially with this brand-new bike. I’m really happy with how things went, and I’m super-proud that I ran the fastest overall lap at my home track. Hats off to MotoAmerica and Dunlop for hosting this official Test because it’s an important start to our season.”

Yamaha’s bLU cRU teams and riders will return to COTA on April 20-23 for the opening round of the 2017 MotoAmerica road racing season, held in conjunction with the Grand Prix of The Americas MotoGP weekend.

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

Also, check out “YamahaMotorUSA” on your favorite social media site.

More, from a press release issued by Yoshimura Suzuki:

YOSHIMURA SUZUKI GOES 1-2 IN FINAL MOTOAMERICA PRESEASON TEST

Roger Hayden Leads the Way On Re-Designed 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000

Chino, CA (March 30, 2017) – Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing turned in an excellent performance in the final MotoAmerica/Dunlop pre-season test at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) on Tuesday and Wednesday. Team riders Roger Hayden and Toni Elias completed the two-day test first and second on the timing charts aboard their new 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbikes.

Hayden and Elias spent much of the final day of the Dunlop Preseason Test at COTA swapping positions atop the charts, but it was the Kentuckian clicking off a 2:08.305 late in the last session on Wednesday to take the top spot. Hayden was .127 of a second better than his teammate Elias, the Spaniard having logged the best Superbike class time in Tuesday’s sessions.

In addition, Elias’ Suzuki GSX-R1000 clocked the fastest speed-trap time of the test at 183.262 mph.

The solid early performances of the potent and innovative 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000 has left the entire Yoshimura Suzuki squad eager to see the racing season get underway.

“That felt good that last session,” Hayden said. “Not just the qualifier, but with the softer race tire I did a bunch of 2:09s there so I was really excited about that. I was actually going to try to keep trying to go and see how many low 9s I could do, but the boys wanted me to come in and try the qualifiers. That’s always fun, the qualifiers, having so much grip and going for it one lap. Overall, I’m really happy. We got through a lot of stuff and being fast from the get-go helps a lot. I’m ready to get this season going.”

Elias was equally optimistic heading into the season-opener in a couple of weeks.

“We still have some work to do for me to get the feeling of the new bike that I like, but to be as fast as we are this early in the development is very positive,” Elias explained. “We have some new parts coming from Japan that should make the handling even better, so we look ahead and know that the motorcycle will improve even more as we gain knowledge.”

Several entities within the Suzuki family came together to assist on developing the new GSX-R1000 Superbike as rapidly as possible.

“It was a great opportunity to continue development and testing with the new GSX-R1000 Superbike,” said Don Sakakura, Senior Vice President of Yoshimura R&D of America. “We’re making great strides in understanding the motorcycle and the riders are getting very comfortable on the bike already. It’s very encouraging as we head into the start of the 2017 season. It was nice to have the Suzuki engineering group here supporting us as well as the Suzuki Motor of America group. So it was a big team of engineers and technicians on hand here at COTA.”

The 2017 MotoAmerica season kicks off at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas on April 20-23, 2017.

You can keep up with the team’s progress by visiting www.yoshimura-racing.com and www.yoshimura-racing.com and via YouTube at www.yoshimura-racing.com

Team Yoshimura Suzuki is grateful for the support of their sponsors: Yoshimura R&D, Suzuki Motor of America, Motul, Tucker Rocky, Dunlop, Shorai, Sunstar, K&N Performance Filters, NGK Spark Plugs, RK Racing Chain, Chicken Hawk Racing and Zeta.

About Yoshimura R&D of America: Yoshimura is “The Leader in Performance” and has been for over 60 years. With unmatched skills, knowledge and passion for racing, Yoshimura is on the forefront of the aftermarket. Yoshimura exhaust systems are race bred and feature the same legendary performance, fit, and quality that has been our trademark for six decades. To learn more about Yoshimura and view their wide variety of performance products, visit www.yoshimura-rd.com

About Suzuki: Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. (SMAI) distributes Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Outboard Motors and Automotive Parts and Accessories via an extensive dealer network throughout 49 states. SMAI’s supplier, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automobiles and Outboard Motors. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has 147 distributors in 201 countries. For more information, visit www.suzuki.com