2017 Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha Supersport Road Racing Team Announced

Cypress, CA – November 18, 2016 – Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., is proud to announce that its Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Extended Service (Y.E.S.)/Graves/Yamaha road racing team will be competing aboard the refined, redesigned, and remarkable 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6 in the Supersport class of the 2017 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship. The announcement was made by Keith McCarty, Motorsports Racing Division Manager for Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.

With two MotoAmerica Supersport Champions on its team, Monster Energy/Yamalube/Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha boasts one of the most successful and experienced middleweight motorcycle road racer lineups in the world, as 2016 Champ Garrett Gerloff and 2015 title-winner JD Beach are both back and excited to climb aboard their brand-new 2017 Yamaha R6 machines. Garrett’s R6 will carry the #1 as defending MotoAmerica Supersport Champion and JD will run his signature #95 on his identically prepared R6.

“We’re proud to add Monster Energy as official title sponsors of our Supersport team, and to continue our long and highly successful relationships with Yamalube and Yamaha Extended Service,” commented Keith McCarty. “We’re especially proud to continue working with Chuck Graves and Graves Motorsports. For nearly 20 years, Chuck and his organization have been an integral part of our racing efforts. Together, Yamaha and Graves have won a lot of races and championships–in Supermoto, road racing, and UTV off-road racing–and we look forward to continued success in 2017 and beyond.”

Reigning MotoAmerica Supersport Champion Garrett said, “I’m so excited to be a part of the Yamaha family again for 2017! And ‘family’ is no exaggeration. Yamaha has stood by my side since I became a professional, through the ups and downs, and they make me feel like I am a part of something bigger than myself. I am so happy that I feel like I was able to repay them for all of their hard work and sacrifice over the years by winning the 2016 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship.

“Now, I’m working even harder on becoming a smarter racer and more consistent rider so that I have the best chance at holding the number one plate in the air, again, at the end of 2017. One thing that should also make that goal a little easier is the brand-new R6, with new features that will help JD and I find more speed on the track. I am also very happy to have JD, one of my biggest competitors, as my teammate again. We push each other to be the best we can be every time we show up to the track. So, overall, 2017 is going to be a challenging year (like every year), but I feel confident in my team and myself, excited to have a new motorcycle to play with, and I’m ready to line up on the grid at COTA in April. See y’all at the track!”

2016 MotoAmerica Supersport Champion JD commented, “I’m really looking forward to the 2017 season and the new challenges that lay ahead. Not only do I get to run my beloved number 95 again, but also, I get to work extra-hard to put it at the front aboard the brand new R6! I’m really looking forward to racing the new R6 and to re-claim the title on a new machine with the number 95 on it. It would put the icing on the cake. I’m getting as old as my teammate Josh Hayes now, so, to have new challenges keeps me motivated after all these years racing.”

The 2017 MotoAmerica Supersport road racing season gets underway on April 20-23 at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, TX.

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