MotoAmerica Round 7 - Sonoma

Misc Press Release from 2018 MotoAmerica Round 7 Sonoma

---------------------------

Beaubier and Beach Dominate with Double Victories at Sonoma Raceway

Ventura Scores Sunday Junior Cup Win for Graves/Yamaha R3 Support Program

Sonoma, Calif. – August 13, 2018 – Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Cameron Beaubier wrapped up a flawless weekend at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday with another dominant performance in Superbike Race 2. Leading every lap and session of the weekend, the Northern California native emerged from his home race with a double-victory and a 63-point lead in the prestigious MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.

In Supersport action, Monster Energy/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha’s JD Beach also notched a perfect score in Sonoma, making for an incredible weekend for the Yamaha bLU cRU at Round 7 of the MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship. Beach’s Race 2 victory now gives him a 100-point lead in the Supersport Championship.

History tends to repeat itself at Sonoma Raceway, with Beaubier’s double-victories matching his 2017 performance and Beach duplicating the double-victories achieved by Gerloff in the Supersport class in 2017. Together, their performances reinforce the dominance of Yamaha’s mighty R1 and nimble R6 at the legendary road course that all started when Josh Hayes claimed the very first R1 Superbike victory at Sonoma Raceway in 2009.

Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing Superbike Team

As the green flag waived to signal the start of Superbike Race 2, Cameron Beaubier made it clear that he was out to win as he piloted his R1 to a commanding lead from the start of the race. Beaubier and the team worked hard throughout the weekend to find the perfect set-up for the technical Sonoma course, and it paid off with more than a 9-second gap on the competition by the middle of the race. In true champion form, Beaubier gave his hometown crowd of fans lots to cheer for when he crossed the finish line, claiming victory 6.5 seconds ahead of Toni Elias in the runner-up position.

Garrett Gerloff launched from the starting grid to a top-five position, keeping himself within striking distance of the podium battle early on. The Superbike rookie stalked Yamaha bLU cRU rider Mathew Scholtz for the first 15 laps as he sized up the passing opportunities. With seven laps to go, Gerloff pulled the trigger and powered his R1 into the fourth-place position. Gerloff continued to push towards the podium battle ahead, and ultimately crossed the finish line in fourth place.

Cameron Beaubier - #6 YZF-R1

“I’m so happy! I don’t know what it is about this place but I feel like my bike and my style work so good at this track. I don’t know if it’s riding in front of my hometown, or my family and friends or what but I’m just kind of speechless right now. It feels really good. We were able to increase our points lead, which was the most important thing and getting out of here with two wins. We came into this weekend pretty confident thinking that we could get it done, and we did, so hats off to the entire team. I just really enjoyed myself this weekend.”

Garrett Gerloff - #31 YZF-R1

“Today I had more expectations than what happened. I really expected myself to have a good first couple of laps and be right there with Josh [Herrin] and Toni [Elias], at least fighting for that second or third spot, but after a pretty embarrassing first four laps I found myself battling for fourth with Jake Lewis and Mathew Scholtz and they were riding really good. Mathew kind of fell off at the end at I was able to capitalize on it, but I’m really just disappointed with the weekend in general. I felt good coming in, especially after a great weekend in Utah, and I really felt like this was going to be a good stepping stone weekend. In the end, I learned some things and it’s not failing if you learn something. I learned some things about setup and I’m going to take that to the next round in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh is a track that I really like and it’s kind of an advantage for me because it’s a track that really nobody has ridden on too much. We only had it two times last year – a test and a race – so it’s still a little bit new for everybody so I feel like I’ll have a little bit more of an advantage at that one. It’s a really fun track, very flowing and has a lot of really cool sections and smooth pavement. All-in-all, I think we learned a lot this weekend and we’ll have a really good bike for two hard races and we’re going to try and get it done.”

Tom Halverson - Team Manager

“What a fantastic weekend for us, another double-win! Cam was just so dominant here at Sonoma and we’re all super excited to come out of here with a 63-point lead at this point in the championship. Garrett took another fourth-place today and he did great. The learning process continues and I think he’s going to be strong at Pittsburgh. This track [Sonoma Raceway] is very, very difficult on a Superbike, which everyone knows. Congrats to the entire team, we had a little fire drill this morning and everyone pulled together and did a great job, so hats off to everyone involved.”

2018 MotoAmerica Superbike Standings – 14 of 20 Series Races Completed

Pos. Rider Points

1 Cameron Beaubier – Yamaha 298

2Toni Elias – Suzuki 235

3 Josh Herrin – Yamaha 187

4 Mathew Scholtz – Yamaha 163

5 Garrett Gerloff – Yamaha 157

7 Kyle Wyman – Yamaha 116

Monster Energy/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha Supersport Team

Beach once again pulled out all the stops to maintain the lead in Supersport Race 2 from start to finish. He powered his Monster Energy/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha R6 to the front right off the start and he never looked back as he held off a hard-charging Valentin Debise for 19 laps of high-speed racing. Beach’s double victory at Sonoma gives the points leader a six-race winning streak after 11 races completed this season.

JD Beach - #95 YZF-R6

“That was a hard race, almost every lap I came around and saw ‘plus zero’ on the board. I could hear both of them [Valentin Debise and Hayden Gillim] right on me. We started getting a bit of a gap to Hayden but Valentin was right there. My R6 was working great, we definitely did our homework last night and I feel like my pace was good, especially considering this was one of my worst tracks last year.”

Chuck Graves – Team Owner

“JD Beach continued to show his dominance in the Supersport class today, and his race strategy was well thought-out. I’m really happy to see him continue to extend his championship points lead on the R6, and we’re looking forward to Pittsburgh in a couple of weeks.”

2018 MotoAmerica Supersport Standings – 11 of 17 Series Races Completed

Pos. Rider Points

1 JD Beach – Yamaha 265

2 Hayden Gillim – Yamaha 165

3 Valentin Debise – Suzuki 125

Additional Yamaha bLU cRU Rider Notes

Attack Performance/Herrin Compound/Yamaha’s Josh Herrin gave it his all on Sunday in a hard-fought Superbike Race 2 battle. Herrin once again diced back-and-forth with reigning MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Toni Elias in a close battle for second. Herrin kept the pressure on Elias in the final laps but a mistake late in the race cost him the opportunity to make a lasting impression, where he finished a hard-fought third in Race 2.

Rickdiculous Racing’s Hayden Gillim put forth a great effort in Supersport Race 2 to land his R6 atop the podium once again with third-place. With a solid string of podium finishes thus far, Gillim maintains second overall in the Supersport Championship standings.

It was a pivotal day for the Graves/Yamaha R3 Support Program as MP13 Racing’s Cory Ventura rode his R3 to the top of the MotoAmerica Junior Cup podium for Sunday’s Race 2. It was a career-first victory for Ventura in the class, and it closely followed a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience at the VR46 Master Camp in Italy. In addition to bringing a wealth of knowledge into the race weekend, Ventura and the other Graves/Yamaha R3 Support Program riders received riding tips and advice from Yamaha bLU cRU Rider Coach Josh Hayes.

“Today’s MotoAmerica Junior Cup race was a breakthrough moment for the Graves/Yamaha-supported R3 racers, with Cory Ventura scoring the top position on the podium, and many other riders improving their results,” said Chuck Graves. “Everyone worked really hard to improve settings that benefitted all of the riders, and I was very proud to see that it resulted in podium finishes this weekend.”

Tom Halverson added, “That was very exciting. We got to be a part of taking Cory [Ventura] to Italy for the VR46 Master Camp and it was really great seeing how he did over there and getting the reports back on what he learned and how excited he was. I think it really paid off here, we knew he had the potential anyways, but maybe it was just a little bit extra that he gave to pull off that win. Congratulations to him, his parents and the entire Graves organization for putting such a great program together for the R3s and hopefully we can repeat that in Pittsburgh.”

The Yamaha bLU cRU riders will head to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 24-26 for Round 8 of the 2018 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship series at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. For complete schedule details, visit: http://motoamerica.com/.

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

---------------------------

Beaubier Dominates Superbike Race 1 at Sonoma Raceway

Beach Extends Supersport Win-Streak to Five-in-a-Row

Sonoma, Calif. – August 11, 2018 – Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Cameron Beaubier was the star of the show on Saturday with an all-around dominant performance in front of a hometown crowd at Sonoma Raceway to kick off Round 7 of the MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship. Along with the Superbike Race 1 victory, Beaubier posted a course-record lap time of 1:34.071 in Superpole to head up an all-Yamaha front row on the Superbike starting grid.

In Supersport action, Monster Energy/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha’s JD Beach emerged with an exciting victory to extend his win-streak in the class to five-in-a-row after Saturday’s Race 1.

Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing Superbike Team

As the green flag waived to start Superbike Race 1, Cameron Beaubier launched from pole position into the lead battle with fellow bLU cRU rider Josh Herrin on the opening lap. Beaubier made quick work getting into the lead and he slowly opened a gap that would put him in a league of his own for the remainder of the race. The two-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion securely piloted his R1 across the line 7.296 seconds ahead of Herrin, and extended his lead over Toni Elias in the championship standings to 58 points.

Meanwhile, Superbike rookie Garrett Gerloff put himself into a favorable fourth-place position off the start as he positioned himself just behind the second-place battle of Herrin and Elias. Gerloff fought hard to keep the front-runners within his sight and he made great strides to keep his R1 on pace to ultimately finish fourth in Race 1.

Cameron Beaubier - #6 YZF-R1

“My R1 was working awesome today, I think we smashed the Superpole lap time compared to last year by 1.2 seconds. I think Dunlop has definitely been part of that, bringing the bigger rear tire and softer options than we had last year. And also, the soft front tire, I feel like it just unlocks the R1 and I feel like we make up the time on the side of the tire. I’m happy with the position we’re in and just want to keep the ball rolling.

I think I came into this weekend with a little more confidence than I normally do for a race weekend. We had a really good off-season test here and I think we had a little time on our competitors here at the test. Also, last year we were able to win both races pretty dominantly, so I knew coming into this race it would be a little tougher than last year because everyone has learned the track as the second year back, but I definitely had a good feeling about the weekend. At the beginning, my goal was just to put my head down and click off fast laps like I was doing in practice but [Josh] Herrin made it tough. He was fighting pretty good on the first lap and I was able to get by him and I just put my head down. I kind of lost concentration after I opened up a gap and I ran off the track, and I almost did it again like five laps later. I’m not really used to just being out front by myself for that long but all-in-all I’m happy with how today went. We have to maybe try some things and try to make a step forward tomorrow because I know everyone else will and try to do the same thing.”

Garrett Gerloff - #31 YZF-R1

“I feel like I got a decent jump in today’s race and basically got right behind Toni [Elias] and Josh [Herrin] on the first lap. Cameron [Beaubier] was riding awesome and basically took off, but Josh and Toni were right in front of me for the majority of that race. I was pacing them like a second back and a couple of points it came down to half-a-second and I was tasting a podium, I wanted it so bad and felt like I had the bike to do it! Just the last half of the race, I started struggling with just some pumping issues and the track was hot today and it made the tires greasy, so it was just a really difficult race and I could see them struggling with the same thing. The last five or six laps, I really struggled on the front, just putting the bike where I needed to put it. We have some things to work on but I have a pretty clear picture of what I need for tomorrow and I know we’ve got a good team and we’ll be good for tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Tom Halverson - Team Manager

“Coming in, we knew Cam was going to be strong because we had a really good early season test here and since that test, we’ve improved the bike quite a bit. Cam’s confidence has come up quite a bit, too, with his recent wins, but I don’t think we expected him to have the lead he did, very impressive. The bike looked beautiful and Cam was riding awesome, so congrats to the whole team. It’s great to be this far ahead in the championship right now. There’s still a ways to go but it’s definitely a good feeling. Garrett started off a little bit off-pace – this is a tough track on a Superbike – but by the first race he’d really figured it out and he got a really solid fourth place finish, so congrats to Garrett and his crew and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

2018 MotoAmerica Superbike Standings – 13 of 20 Series Races Completed

Pos. Rider Points

1 Cameron Beaubier – Yamaha 273

2Toni Elias – Suzuki 215

3 Josh Herrin – Yamaha 171

4 Mathew Scholtz – Yamaha 152

5 Garrett Gerloff – Yamaha 144

7 Kyle Wyman – Yamaha 109

Superbike Race 2 will go green on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. PDT.

Monster Energy/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha Supersport Team

JD Beach got off to a great start aboard his R6 and he took control of the race early on before engaging in a lead battle with Yamaha bLU cRU rider Hayden Gillim around the halfway mark. Beach and Gillim exchanged the lead for the next few laps before Beach made his final charge to overtake the top spot. Once out front, he maintained his composure while also putting on a charge to create a gap on the competition as he rode to his fifth-straight win of the season.

JD Beach - #95 YZF-R6

“Today's race was amazing. It was one of the hardest-fought races this year, I think. Hayden [Gillim] and Valentin [Debise] were riding awesome. Sonoma is probably one of the hardest tracks we go to during the season but my Yamaha R6 worked amazing. Hayden was throwing some crazy passes at me today but we stayed calm and fought the battle. We for sure have some homework to do for Race 2 but I'm looking forward to it and I'm sure it's going to be another exciting race!”

Chuck Graves – Team Owner

“I read some press that JD felt like he’d really struggled at this track in the past and that he was really going to focus on being strong out of the gate, and he did exactly that. He was quickest in the first session and he got nipped in qualifying today, he just couldn’t get a clean lap and needed a few more adjustments and the guys were able to give him a perfect bike for the race. He had a great strategy and battled throughout the halfway point and put his head down to gap those guys by a couple seconds, so I was really proud of him and the whole team.”

2018 MotoAmerica Supersport Standings – 10 of 18 Series Races Completed

Pos. Rider Points

1 JD Beach – Yamaha 240

2 Hayden Gillim – Yamaha 149

3 Valentin Debise – Suzuki 105

4 Cory West – Yamaha 105

Supersport Race 2 will go green on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. PDT.

Additional Yamaha bLU cRU Rider Notes

Attack Performance/Herrin Compound/Yamaha’s Josh Herrin scored a solid second-place finish in Superbike Race 1 as he held off reigning MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Toni Elias for 21 laps of tight-knit racing.

In Supersport action, Rickdiculous Racing’s Hayden Gillim put up a good fight against series points leader JD Beach, swapping the lead position throughout the halfway point of the race. Gillim logged three laps out front aboard his R6 before dropping to third to battle for the remaining podium positions, finishing third in Race 1.

The Graves/Yamaha R3 Support Program riders came into Sonoma with great momentum as Graves Motorsports owner Chuck Graves introduced new settings for the R3 machines. With Yamaha bLU cRU Rider Coach Josh Hayes on-hand giving instruction and feedback, the young bLU cRU riders were ready for battle when the green flag waved for Race 1. AGVSPORT/America MonkeyMoto’s Jay Newton claimed top honors with second-place, and RiderzLaw Racing’s Jackson Blackmon rounded out the podium with a solid third-place finish.

“For the Junior Cup, we came to Sonoma with some new settings, a new exhaust pipe, new mapping and suspension settings,” said Chuck Graves. “This track has a lot of corners and very few straightaways, so it really lends itself to the precise handling of the R3. All of the Graves Yamaha Junior Cup riders were really on-pace with the competition and it was looking like we were going to have a great result and there were a few tip-overs in the race but at the end of the day, I think we scored second through sixth-places, so I’m really proud of those guys and they’ve really raised their level of riding.”

The Yamaha bLU cRU riders will battle once again on Sunday, August 12, for Race 2 of Round 7 of the 2018 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship series at Sonoma Raceway. For complete schedule details, visit: http://motoamerica.com/.

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

---------------------------

Yamaha bLU cRU Road Racers Ready to Uncork MotoAmerica Round 7

Championship Pursuits Continue at Sonoma Raceway in California

Cypress, CA – August 8, 2018 – Yamaha bLU cRU road racers will descend upon the 12-turn 2.52-mile Sonoma Raceway road course this weekend, Aug. 10-12, for Round 7 of the2018 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship in Northern California’s scenic wine country. Coming off a 1-2 finish at the previous round in Utah, Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing teammates Cameron Beaubier and Garrett Gerloff look to keep the momentum rolling on their YZF-R1 Superbikes, while JD Beach aims to extend his Supersport championship points lead on his Monster Energy/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha YZF-R6.

Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing Superbike Team

Cameron Beaubier, a Northern California native from the nearby city of Roseville, holds a 49-point lead in the Superbike Championship as the series lands in front of his hometown crowd in Sonoma. Through his consistency and refined race craft, the two-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion has been able to place his R1 on the podium in all but one race in 2018, capturing five wins along the way.

Garrett Gerloff continues to make strides in his inaugural Superbike season, and heads into the weekend with great momentum after scoring a career-best second-place in Utah. Although he expects some challenges with the Sonoma road course on a powerful Superbike, the two-time MotoAmerica Supersport Champion will focus on conquering the weekend with a pair of podium finishes. Gerloff sits fifth overall in the Superbike standings with four podium finishes behind him.

Cameron Beaubier - #6 YZF-R1

“I was pretty happy heading out of Utah with a second and a win because I knew that was going to be a tough track for us, but we turned out to be pretty strong there and built on it throughout the weekend. I'm going into Sonoma excited and looking to keep the momentum going. We've won some races here close to home and I like tight, twisty tracks like this one on the R1.”

Garrett Gerloff - #31 YZF-R1

“Sonoma has no straightaways, which was something that I liked on the 600 and something that made the track really fun and flowing. But after riding the track on the Superbike, I realized that it's not so easy, and that aspect is going to make things a little difficult, but I'm always up for a good challenge! Luckily, we already had a test here in the winter, so I have an idea of what to expect going into the race. I'm looking forward to it.”

2018 MotoAmerica Superbike Standings – 12 of 20 Series Races Completed

Pos. Rider Points

1 Cameron Beaubier – Yamaha 248

2Tony Elias – Suzuki 199

3 Mathew Scholtz – Yamaha 152

4 Josh Herrin – Yamaha 151

5 Garrett Gerloff – Yamaha 131

7 Kyle Wyman – Yamaha 101

Superbike Superpole (Qualifying) is on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. PDT, Superbike Race 1 will go green on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and Superbike Race 2 is on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

Monster Energy/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha Supersport Team

At just past the halfway point of the 17-race Supersport Championship, JD Beach holds an 82-point lead over the competition in what has proven to be some of the most exciting battles of the season. Beach has piloted his Monster Energy/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha R6 to a total of seven race wins and two second-place finishes thus far, and he continues to put in the work between rounds to further extend his streak in the second half of the season.

JD Beach - #95 YZF-R6

“Sonoma is a track that I've been looking forward to all year. It's probably one of the hardest tracks for me on the calendar, so I'm excited to use the knowledge I've gained throughout the year there. We've all seen the Yamaha R6 put down some fast lap times there so I know it's not the bike. I've been doing some extra training between Utah and Sonoma to help in some of the areas I’ve struggled with in the past, so I hope to see a ton of fans out there for another great weekend of MotoAmerica action.”

2018 MotoAmerica Supersport Standings – 9 of 17 Series Races Completed

Pos. Rider Points

1 JD Beach – Yamaha 215

2 Hayden Gillim – Yamaha 133

3 Cory West – Yamaha 95

5 Braeden Ortt – Yamaha 87

Supersport Qualifying at Sonoma Raceway is Saturday at 10:50 a.m. PDT, Supersport Race 1 is scheduled for Saturday at 2:30 p.m., and Supersport Race 2 will go green on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

Ventura and Blackmon Enhance Skillsets for Junior Cup Action

Graves/Yamaha-supported YZF-R3 riders Cory Ventura and Jackson Blackmon recently attended the fifth edition of the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp in Tavullia, Italy, where they received specialized training from Movistar Yamaha MotoGP racing legend Valentino Rossi and other experts. Accompanied by Yamaha Factory Racing Ambassador and bLU cRU Rider Coach Josh Hayes, Ventura and Blackmon had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience a variety of training sessions including classroom lectures, physical fitness conditioning and specialized riding instruction on both pavement and dirt. Both riders gained a wealth of knowledge for the technical aspects of motorcycle racing, which they plan to apply in MotoAmerica Junior Cup competition beginning this weekend with the Championship of Sonoma.

Cory Ventura - #64 YZF-R3

“I had an absolute blast at the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp! I had so much fun learning about how all the VR46 riders train and how things work for all of them. I am going to take home all the valuable things they told me I need to work on in order to get ready for Sonoma!”

Jackson Blackmon - #18 YZF-R3

"Getting to go to the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp was nothing less than a dream come true. When I got the news that I was going to Italy for a week to train with the legend Valentino Rossi and the other academy riders, I knew it was an incredible opportunity, but I had no clue what an eye-opening experience it would be. Riding at the Ranch was so awesome! I've seen so many videos of that place and riding there has always been a dream to me. Also, getting to ride at Misano was so cool. The track is fast, smooth, and one of the nicest I've ever ridden. The Master Camp was something I'll never forget and all the great people and experiences I will remember forever. I can’t thank Yamaha enough for everything, including the top-of-the-line bikes we rode in various disciplines over the five days. Also, I can’t say thank you enough to VR46 for giving me this opportunity. I hope to take what I learned and apply it in my upcoming races and I really hope to go back in the future and train some more!"

To see more of the action from the fifth edition of the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp, visit: https://www.facebook.com/YamahaVR46MasterCamp/.

MotoAmerica Junior Cup qualifying begins on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. PDT, with Race 1 going green at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Race 2 on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Meet the Yamaha bLU cRU Road Racers Twice This Weekend

All your favorite Yamaha bLU cRU road racers will be available for autographs at their Team Transporters during the Dunlop Paddock Autograph Session on Saturday from Noon to 12:45 p.m., and again on Sunday during the Dunlop Hot Pit Walk & Autograph Session on pit lane from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

For the complete MotoAmerica race schedule and event details, visit: http://motoamerica.com/.

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