Army Of Darkness Adds New Teammate Ahead of July 18 Roebling Road WERA/N2 4hr Endurance Round; also, puts stickers on bikes…finally.
Army Of Darkness debuted their 2020 Yamaha R1 endurance machine with a win at the first rounds of the WERA/N2 national endurance series at Summit Point on June 7. Since that time the team has been hard at work upgrading their race bikes with the carefully planned and executed development of Bold New Graphics (BNG). Crew Chief Tim Gooding explains: “Many factories develop their machines in the second year of production by updating them with BNG. The competition at Summit was really strong so we are bringing those second year improvements ahead one season to try to maintain that winning edge.”
Long-standing team member Chris Peris is unable to make the trip to Roebling so, continuing a long tradition of riders who have worn Team Hammer leathers AND ridden AOD bikes (including Josh Hayes, Ben Spies and Peris), Jake Lewis will be throwing a leg over the AOD R1 on Saturday before heading back to Kentucky for a hare scramble on Sunday.
Jake Lewis: “I haven’t had much chance to ride the Yamahas, especially with BNG, so when Army Of Darkness invited me to substitute for Chris Peris it seemed like a great chance to try out the bike and attempt to keep their winning streak going. I’m also psyched to sample the Michelins after years on other brands.”
Ben Walters: “It is going to be a little bit of a bummer not having Chris here for this round, but I am excited to have someone of Jake’s caliber as a replacement. Jake has a proven track record in Moto America. It is going to be really interesting to hear his feedback on the BNG and compare data. The new R1 is so great right out of the box with a highly adjustable platform. His input will surely allow the team to sharpen the razor even further.”
Team Captain and reserve rider Sam Fleming previewed the second round of the 2020 season by encouraging his teammates: “Just don’t scratch the bikes, it took a long time to get all the stickers on the fairings.”
AOD is sponsored by: Army of Darkness, Yamaha Champions Riding School, Yamaha, Michelin, Chicken Hawk, Wood Craft, Hindle, K-Tech, Fast Frank Racing, Supersprox, Thermosman, N2, Industry13, WERA, Roadracing World.
