Yamaha Announces AMA Road Racing Teams

The manufacturer announced October 2009 it would not run a factory team in the 2010 AMA Pro Road Racing season. Instead, Yamaha will be represented by four teams, the championship winning Graves Motorsports team, the Pat Clark Motorsports Team, Team Project 1 Atlanta and Team MPH Racing.

I couldnt be more excited for our effort this year, says Keith McCarty, division manager for Yamahas racing department. All of our associated teams will receive direct support from our in house management and our factory technicians, and this should give us the competitive edge to win.

Josh Hayes, who raced for Yamahas factory effort in the 2009 American Superbike class, will join the Graves team on the R1. Hayes finished second to Mat Mladin in the 2009 season, compiling seven wins including a victory at Infineon Raceway that ended Suzukis 55-race winning streak.

Returning with Graves Motorsports is its Daytona Sportbike duo of Tommy Aquino and Josh Herrin. Herrin finished second in the 2009 championship despite finishing the season with four straight wins and eight podium appearances in the last nine races. Aquino finished eighth with three third-place finishes.

Hayes former factory teammate and reigning Daytona 200 winner Ben Bostrom headlines the Pat Clark Motorsports team. Bostrom will race in the American Superbike class alongside Chris Clark. Bostrom finished fifth in the 2009 American Superbike standings with eight podium results. Chris Clark, son of team owner Pat Clark, competed in the Daytona Sportbike class in 2009 and will be making his Superbike debut in 2010. Clark received the AMA Sports Road Race Horizon Award in 2008.

The Project 1 Atlanta team will enter riders Dane Westby and Clinton Seller in the Daytona Sportbike class on a Graves Motorsports-prepped R6. Westby had four top-ten finishes in the class in 2009 while Seller scored a ninth-place finish in his debut round at the season finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Rounding out the Yamaha family is the MPH Racing featuring Melissa Paris. The first woman to qualify for a World Supersport Championship round, Paris is the highest-placing female rider in Daytona 200 history, finishing 21st in the 2009 race, finishing ahead of her husband Hayes. Paris will compete in the Daytona Sportbike class with support from Yamaha and Genuine Yamaha Technology Racing.

Yamaha also announced its 2010 road race contingency program. The manufacturer is posting a total of $333,400 for various national and regional racing series. For more information about Yamahas 2010 contingency program, visit http://www.yamaha-motor.com/rrcontingency.

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