It will be a sea of blue at the 2017 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) when no less than 20 Yamaha supported riders will front the grid across all three championship classes this season.
In a structure finalised by Yamaha and our road racing partner, Yamaha Racing Developments (YRD), riders and teams will be given support ranging from garages on race day, discounted bikes and parts as well as race bonuses and incentives that will keep riders on the track and continue with Yamaha's rider development.
Broken into different levels of support, starting with the official YRT team, then YRT support and YRD support, it will cover the Superbike, Supersport and R3 Cup championship classes with long standing YRD manager, Ian Irving, being the go to man for all YRT and YRD supported riders chasing technical information and rider co-ordination, while Janice Winton will assist YRT and YRD riders with parts and accounts.
Back again for 2017 after a successful season debut last year, the R3 Race Centre will be in attendance each round to assist R3 riders during the series. The R3 Race Centre is a truck devoted to riders competing in the R3 Cup will be available at every round with mechanical staff on hand to assist.
New for 2017 is the introduction of the GP Junior Cup and designed to be a junior entry level class for road racing. Aimed at the 11 to 15year old age group and exclusively on the Yamaha R15, the stars of tomorrow will be out tearing up the track as they cut their teeth in Australia's premier road racing series.
ASBK Superbike
Yamaha Racing Team
Headlining our road racing program will again be the Yamaha Racing Team featuring Glenn Allerton and Glenn Maxwell on the thundering R1. After an extensive testing program throughout the off season, both the riders and the team are primed for a big year and it all starts this weekend when the boys tackle the opening round of the championship, ran in conjunction with the World Superbike Championship at Phillip Island.
Yamaha Racing Team – Support
Three more riders will again have the luxury of working closely with the Yamaha Racing on bike development and other important aspects of racing in 2017. Cru Halliday, Daniel Falzon and Michael Blair will all have official support from YRT and benefit from the knowledge gained at the highest level. All three are proven race winners and will no doubt be championship contenders in 2017.
Yamaha Racing Development (YRD) - Support
Mitch Levy, Simon Galloway, Adam Senior, Paul Dutton and Jed Metcher will also be R1 mounted and have secured support via the long standing YRD support program. These riders will have a direct line to the people that matter and develop their race skills under the watchful eye of Yamaha.
The opening round of the ASBK this weekend has 17 riders out of the 29 entered racing the Yamaha R1 in a huge tick of approval for the race weapon by the competitors.
ASBK – Supersport
Yamaha Racing Team- Support
The support doesn't stop at the top of the tree with the 600cc category also shown plenty of attention by Yamaha. Luke Mitchell will lead the way with on his Yamaha R6 and work closely with YRD in his pursuit of the 2017 Supersport championship.
Yamaha Racing Developments – Support
No less than nine riders will race with YRD support in the 600cc class this year. Chris Quinn, Jordan Carlsson, Nic Liminton, Cambridge Oliver, Zac Levy, Callum Anderson, Thomas Bryden, Aiden Hayes and Jack Dawes will all sport the YRD logo proudly on their R6 machines and be able to lean on the YRD crew when required.
ASBK
300cc
Two young guns will flag the Yamaha / YRD flag in the 300cc race this season. Brandon Demmery and Zac Levy will be out to show the world their skills on Yamaha exciting R3 machine. Both have shown the speed, talent and determination to succeed and racing and Yamaha have stepped up with valuable support to keep them on the steep learning curve.
"We have offered a tiered level of support to riders this year and believe we can continue to fast track and assist in the developing champions," states YRT boss, John Redding. "Ian Irving and Janice Winton will again oversee our support riders and programs and he will work closely with the riders and teams mentioned above to ensure they are getting the most from themselves and their machines.
"As you can see, it's a huge undertaking to assist so many riders but it's one the YRT / YRD and Yamaha Australia believe in and will continue to do to showcase our exciting range of road race ready machines. We have every class covered from the juniors in the GP Cup on R15's all the way through to the factory team on Yamaha YZF – R1M's.
"Round one gets underway this weekend at Phillip Island and it's a great way to start the year at an iconic circuit and in conjunction with the WSBK. We wish all the Yamaha riders well and look forward to a successful year working with them," Redding ends.
For more information on this years' championship, www.asbk.com.au
Credits: Russlel Colvin
For further information, please contact:
John Redding: yrd@bigpond.com