Cameron Beaubier led a parade of Yamaha YZF-R6 racebikes to win the 72nd running of the famed Daytona 200. The Yamaha Extended Service Graves Yamaha rider started from pole position and led for 50 of 57 laps before winning by a 22.254-second margin.

Behind Beaubier were four other R6 riders including his teammate Garret Gerloff who finished second. The Y.E.S. riders were followed by Bobby Fong of Triple Crown /RMR, and the RoadRace Factory team’s Jake Gagne and JD Beach. The five Yamaha riders were also the only five to finish on the lead lap.

The race was clean of the red flags that were common in recent runnings of the Daytona 200, but it also lacked the dramatic 0.048-second victory by Joey Pascarella in last year’s race. The 2013 race did produce some noteworthy results however. Continue Reading »

Today, Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA, has announced its U.S. road racing teams to compete in the 2013 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Racing season, which kicks off in March at the famed Daytona International Speedway.  Continue Reading »

Motorcycle racers recognize they compete in a dangerous sport, risking serious harm in a crash. Of course, all riders know about the risks, whether they’re on a race track or on the street. Still it seems odd to hear Daytona Sportbike racer Cameron Beaubier broke his knee cap and injured his wrist crashing a 50cc scooter on the street.

Beaubier may ride a Yamaha YZF-R6 on the track but the accident occurred when the Graves Yamaha racer clipped an unseen hazard on the road while riding his Yamaha Zuma 50 scooter.Doctors inserted screws and wires into Beaubier’s knee to hold the broken patella in place. Beaubier’s wrist was injured but did not require surgery. Continue Reading »

The 2012 Daytona 200 delivered another fairy-tale finish with underdog privateer Joey Pascarella and the Project 1 Atlanta team fending off a pack of three other racers to win by a slim 0.048 second margin.

Competing in just his first Daytona 200, 19-year-old Pascarella from Victorville, Calif., held the lead for 41 out of 57 laps to finish first ahead of a last year’s winner Jason DiSalvo while Cameron Beaubier squeezed by 2010 Daytona Sportbike Champion Martin Cardenas in a photo-finish to take third.

For the Project 1 Atlanta team, the win marked a dramatic turnaround from a let down in 2011. Despite finishing third in the 2011 Daytona 200 with rider Jake Zemke taking the pole, the team was unable to secure funding to continue the rest of the season. The team came back this year with little funding – Pascarella’s YZF-R6 doesn’t even have a Yamaha logo on it – with its main goal to raise awareness for the March of Dimes children’s charity.

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