Tyler O’Hara was a regular front-runner and title contender in the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson class over the last four seasons. He won eight races, finished in the top three in all four Championships and was the Championship runner-up in 2013.
All that time O’Hara was hoping that he would get noticed by one of the larger teams and start moving up the ladder of professional motorcycle road racing. But so far, that hasn’t happened for a variety of reasons, none of which likely include O’Hara’s talent as a rider.
With professional motorcycle road racing in America changing hands from Daytona Motorsport Group (DMG, d.b.a. AMA Pro Racing) to the KRAVE Group (d.b.a. MotoAmerica), the Harley-Davidson class has gone away. But O’Hara is keeping his dream of making a living as a racer alive by stepping up to the new Superstock 1000cc class in 2015.
““We’re ready. We’re ready to go,” O’Hara told Roadracingworld.com Friday. “I bought the new R1. I got it early through Yamaha. They gave me the privilege to get one early through the Mach 1 Motorsports dealership. I bought it with my own dime.”
O’Hara said he will once again partner with Josh Chisum, of Josh Chisum Racing (JCR), who will also race a Yamaha in the Superstock 1000cc class, and O’Hara’s effort will be supported by Motul, Orient Express, K-Tech Suspension and Motion Pro, among others.
Getting his YZF-R1 early allowed O’Hara to do three days of testing at track days on the stock motorcycle, and he even won an AFM Open Production race March 22 at Buttonwillow with only race bodywork and Dunlop racing tires fitted to his Yamaha.
“It was good,” said O’Hara. “I had the stock gearing, stock exhaust, stock clip-ons. It was good to just get out and ride with other big bikes and get used to the tempo. Since then I’ve had some work done to it. It should be a new machine when I unload it in Austin.”
Although he will still be paying the racing bills with cash he earns at his “real job,” O’Hara says he feels like he is investing in himself and in keeping his racing dream alive.
“I’m really excited,” he said. “I feel like I’m re-born, again. I have a lot to learn this year, which is making it really fun and excited. With the Harley, well, we kind of ran the Harleys out. We did everything you can pretty much do on a Harley, but now I feel like I’m on the right path to where I want to be.
“I hope all my footwork and homework doing this turns into a job somewhere down the line. That’s my goal. That’s my dream.”
O’Hara will kick his 2015 season into full swing at the MotoAmerica event April 9-12 at Circuit of The Americas, in Austin, Texas.