[motorcycle.com] - Yamaha MotoAmerica Racers Preview Round 2 At Road Atlanta This Wee

[Ninjette Newsbot]

The 2016 MotoAmerica*AMA/FIM*North American Road Racing Championship got under way down in Austin, TX, last*weekend, and the*bLU cRU*is excited*to get*right back to racing for the second weekend in a row, as the series will*be at Road Atlanta.

Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha*Factory Racing: Beaubier & Hayes

No one is looking forward to*this weekend at Road Atlanta more than defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion*Cameron Beaubier, who had a tough go of it at the Circuit of The Americas last*weekend. Cameron had a crash in Superbike Race 1, and the damage to his #1*Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Superbike prevented him from finishing the race.*In Sunday’s Race 2, Cameron very*uncharacteristically ran off the track early*in the event, but he fought back hard and finished with a very respectable*fourth-place result.

“I felt a little bit*snake-bitten at Austin,” Cameron said. “I’m definitely looking forward to Road*Atlanta where I did well last year.”

Cameron won both Superbike races*at Road Atlanta last year, and he’s hoping that he and his #1 Monster*Energy/Graves/Yamaha Factory Racing YZF-R1 return to their winning ways in*Georgia.

Four-time AMA Superbike Champion*Josh Hayes had better results last weekend in Texas than did his teammate*Cameron, as Josh recorded two third-place finishes and made two trips to the*COTA*podium. But, like Cameron, he wasn’t very happy with how things went in*Austin.

“I don’t have a good excuse.*I just got beat,” commented Josh. “But, I’m happy that I get another shot at*those boys this weekend at Road Atlanta.”

Superbike Superpole*(Qualifying) begins on Saturday at 2:00 PM EST. Superbike Race 1 will go green on*Sunday at12:30 PM EST, and Superbike Race 2 is later on Sunday at 4:00 PM EST.

Yamaha Extended*Service/Graves/Yamaha: Beach & Gerloff

In contrast to*how Cameron and Josh fared at COTA, things went a lot better for defending*MotoAmerica Supersport Champion JD Beach and his teammate Garrett Gerloff.

Garrett was*fast all weekend long, breaking the MotoAmerica Supersport lap record at COTA*during qualifying and then going on to win the race, with JD finishing second.

Both riders*feel like they have momentum on their sides as they head into the weekend at*Road Atlanta. Garrett and JD finished second and third, respectively, in*Supersport Race 2, and then Garrett*won Supersport Race 2, while JD finished*third again.

“It was really special for me to win at COTA, which is*my home track,” Garrett said. “But I also love Road Atlanta, and I have a lot*of friends in the Atlanta area, so it also feels a little bit like a home*track*for me. I was glad to get on the podium twice last year at Road Atlanta,*including getting the win on Sunday.”

JD said, “I was happy to get*second at COTA because it’s a long season. I’m looking forward to being able to*race again this weekend, and we’ll be working hard to improve on the runner-up*result*that we had at COTA.”

Supersport*Qualifying is*Saturday at*9:20 AM EST. Supersport Race 1*is scheduled for*Saturday at 4:00 PM EST, and Supersport Race 2 will go green on Sunday at 2:45*PM EST.

Meet The Yamaha*bLU*cRU Road Racers

The Fan Walk, scheduled for*10:50 AM EST Sunday on pit lane at Road Atlanta, is a great opportunity to meet*Cameron, Josh, JD, and Garrett. 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 2 Of The MotoAmerica Championship on BeIN*SPORTS and BeIN SPORTS CONNECT