Halfway Home, The bLU cRU Is ’Bama Bound To Barber Motorsports Park This Weekend
Cypress, CA – June 10, 2015 – This weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL, the 2015 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Motorcycle Road Racing Championship will reach the halfway point in its inaugural season. And, for the Yamaha bLU cRU riders, each one of them has a mission to accomplish on George Barber’s challenging and picturesque 2.38-mile, 17-turn road course.
Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha: Beaubier & Hayes
Cameron Beaubier, who has matched his Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha teammate’s four Superbike wins this season with four victories of his own, has been Mr. Consistent so far in 2015, finishing on the podium in all eight Superbike races to date. He’ll need to keep up his momentum, while also exorcising the red-hot demons that conspired against him at Barber in 2014. Now aboard his all-new #6 Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike for 2015, Cameron is ready to exact his revenge on a Barber road course that handed him a DNF in Superbike Race 1 followed by a respectable, albeit slightly disappointing, third-place result in Race 2 last year. Thus far, Cameron has proven that he is “one with his R1.”
Last year’s visit to Barber was a turning point for Superbike Champ Josh Hayes. In the triple-digit heat and stifling humidity, Josh showed why he is the “Mississippi Madman” when he flourished in the climate of his upbringing to win both races in dominant fashion, propelling him on to his fourth AMA Superbike Championship. Josh showed that the fitness and conditioning he works so hard to maintain was a key to his southern success at Barber last year. He’ll need to muster the same strength and results this weekend, in order to fight his way back from second in the points standings and 26 points behind his Championship-leading Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha teammate Cameron Beaubier. Look for the #1 and #6 Yamaha R1 Superbikes at the front of the pack throughout the weekend.
MotoAmerica Superbike Superpole (Qualifying) begins at Barber on Saturday, June 13, at 2:10 PM CST. Superbike Race 1 will go green on Sunday, June 14, at 12:30 PM CST, and Superbike Race 2 is set for later on Sunday at 4:00 PM CST.
Yamalube/Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha: Beach & Gerloff
At Road America two weekends ago, JD Beach and his teammate Garrett Gerloff were part of a Yamaha YZF-R6 three-bike wedge that crossed the finish line almost simultaneously in Sunday’s Supersport Race 2. JD’s #95 Yamalube/Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha R6 captured the narrow, yet infinitely satisfying victory, while Garrett was nipped at the line and had to settle for third.
It was JD’s third win of the season, and he comes into Barber tied for the 2015 Supersport Championship with fellow R6 rider Josh Herrin. The Kentuckian will be looking to Barber to notch Supersport wins four and five in order to separate himself at the top of the points standings.
Just 16 points out of the Supersport Championship lead, Garrett Gerloff is hoping for a much better weekend at Barber–one of his favorite racetracks–than he had in 2014. In Race 1 at Barber last year, Garrett had a tipover that resulted in a hairline fracture of his left wrist, preventing him from competing in Race 2. This year, although he’s still recovering from an injury to his left pinky that he sustained at VIR, Garrett–who once lived in nearby Trussville, AL–considers Barber Motorsports Park to be his home track. He showed at Road America two weekends ago that his fractured finger is a non-factor, so look for the #31 Yamalube/Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha R6 up front all weekend long.
MotoAmerica Supersport Qualifying 1 is on Friday, June 12, at 1:50 PM CST. Final Supersport Qualifying is Saturday, June 13, at 9:50 AM CST, and Supersport Race 1 will go green later on Saturday at 1:00 PM CST. Supersport Race 2 is scheduled to start on Sunday, May 31, at 2:40 PM CST.
Meet The Yamaha bLU cRU
The Dunlop Fan Walk, scheduled for 11:00 AM CST Sunday on pit lane at Barber Motorsports Park, is a great opportunity to meet Josh, Cameron, JD, Garrett, and the other Yamaha bLU cRU riders. They’ll be handing out free, autographed posters and other team items, and you can also get your picture taken with them, as well as the Monster Energy and Yamalube Umbrella Girls.
Watch Round 5 Of The MotoAmerica Championship on CBS Sports
MotoAmerica Round 5 from Barber Motorsports Park will air on Sunday, June 21, at 3:00 PM EST. For the complete MotoAmerica TV broadcast schedule on CBS Sports Network, visit http://www.motoamerica.com/motoamerica-tv-schedule
For live, online streaming during the race weekend, go to www.MotoAmerica.com, and click on “Streaming” under the “LIVE” header in the top-left corner of the page.
For more Yamaha racing news, results, photos, and videos, visit http://www.YamahaMotorsports.com/Racing. Also, check out “YamahaMotorUSA” on all your favorite social media sites.