Blake Young may not have a full time AMA Superbike ride this season but he will get the chance to compete in some high-profile races. CycleNews reports the former Yoshimura Suzuki rider will race for Attack Performance on its Kawasaki-powered CRT racebike at the three U.S. MotoGP rounds.

Young was runner-up to Josh Hayes in the last two AMA Superbike campaigns. In 2011, Young trailed Hayes 363-358 at the end of the season but had a 7-3 edge in race wins. This year, Young had three wins but they all came in the first three double-header events before Hayes separated himself from everyone else on his way to a record-setting season. Despite being one of the few racers with a good chance of catching Hayes, Young found himself without a ride after Yoshimura decided to go in a different direction.

Now that he’s landed with the Attack Performance team, Young will be chasing M1s around the track instead of R1s at three MotoGP races. Young will compete in the April 21 Grand Prix of the Americas at Austin’s new Circuit of the Americas, the July 21 U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif., and the Aug. 18 Indianapolis Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Continue Reading »

Attack Performance Racing and GPTech made history this year as the first teams to build and enter motorcycles under MotoGP’s Claiming Rule Team rules as a  wild card entry. Both teams will race again, receiving wild card invites to all three U.S. rounds in the 2013 MotoGP season.

Attack Performance debuted at the Laguna Seca round but failed to qualify due to a fuel pump problem, but returned weeks later for the Indianapolis Grand Prix, finishing 14th overall and earning two championship points with Steve Rapp riding a Kawasaki ZX-10R-based race bike. Indianapolis Motor Speedway also saw the debut of GPTech‘s Suzuki GSX-R1000-based machine which Aaron Yates piloted to 16th place. Continue Reading »

If you’re headed to MotoGP at Laguna Seca this year, and in need of a new helmet, make sure to stop by Bell Helmets exhibit for your chance to win a new Star Carbon model helmet adorned with special graphics commemorating this year’s GP at Laguna.

From  July 27-29 at Mazda Raceway (Laguna Seca) in Monterey, Calif.,Fans can test their virtual mettle in Bell’s road racing video game competition, with each day’s top rider winning a limited edition Bell Star Carbon Red Bull US Grand Prix helmet. All participants will get a free commemorative podium photo with the Bell Victory Lane Girls. So even if you don’t win a helmet, you’re still coming away with a treat!

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LCR Honda rider Stefan Bradl took to the streets of San Francisco on his MotoGP race bike for a video promoting the upcoming U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca.

Bradl, the runaway favorite to take home MotoGP rookie of the year honors this season, took his Honda RC213V out for a spin on San Franciscio’s Treasure Island before going for a ride down the city’s iconic Lombard St., no doubt using the steep, winding road as practice for Laguna Seca’s Corkscrew.

Later in the day, Bradl and LCR team owner Lucio Cecchinello were guests in a conference at Stanford University titled “Embracing Risk in the Pursuit of Victory”. Bradl, the 2011 Moto2 World Champion, is still looking for his first MotoGP podium but with three top-five finishes including a fourth-place result at Mugello, it may be just a matter of time before his pursuit of victory becomes a success. Continue Reading »

Former Moto2 World Champion Toni Elias is back in the premiere MotoGP class, albeit on a temporary basis. The Pramac Racing satellite Ducati team has signed Elias to race at the U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca in place of Hector Barbera who is sidelined with a broken leg.

Barbera, pictured above, broke his left fibula and tibia in a training accident on July 21 in Spain. Barbera underwent surgery to have a titanium plate and several screws inserted into the leg and is expected to be out four to six weeks. The Spanish rider will miss this week’s U.S. Grand Prix and likely the Aug. 19 Indianapolis Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

For Elias, this marks a return to MotoGP and a quick end to his recent unemployment. Elias started the season racing for the Aspar Racing Moto2 team but the two sides agreed to part ways after the July 15 Italian Grand Prix at Mugello. Aspar has replaced Elias with reigning Spanish National Moto2 Champion Jordi Torres. Continue Reading »

Yamaha is giving fans the opportunity to watch the 2012 U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca from its exclusive Yamaha Chalet.

Located inside Turn 5 of the Monterey, Calif., circuit, the Yamaha Chalet will be open for up to 200 Yamaha fans each day of the July 27-29 MotoGP and AMA Pro Racing event.

Yamaha will give away up to Chalet access wristbands to the first 200 Yamaha fans to visit the information desk at the Yamaha Marketplace at 8:30 am each day. Wristbands will only be awarded to those who wear an article of clothing with the Yamaha logo and the keys to a Yamaha vehicle. Continue Reading »

Yamaha is giving away a 50th Anniversary Edition YZR-R1 autographed by current and former Grand Prix racers to benefit Bubba Shobert‘s Race 2 Embrace Crusade. The one-0f-a-kind R1 will be on display at the July 27-29 U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca

The unique R1 is painted in Yamaha‘s 50th Anniversary colors and features autographs from legends such as Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson and Wayne Rainey, as well as current MotoGP racers Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies from the factory Yamaha team and Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso from the Tech 3 Yamaha team.

AMA racing legend Shobert is the official ambassador for the Race 2 Embrace Crusade, a non-profit organization that assists children living in areas devastated by natural disasters. The organization provides goods and services including shelter, health care, nutrition, education and social and emotional assistance. Continue Reading »

Yamaha and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca are offering a special VIP ticket package for the 2012 U.S. Grand Prix for fans 0f the Japanese manufacturer.

The Yamaha VIP package includes a three-day general admission ticket for the July 27-29 event to catch the MotoGP and AMA Pro Racing action. The package also includes a three-day paddock pass, seating for the Saturday and Sunday in the Turn 4 Grandstand, a VIP lunch in the paddock with AMA riders at the Monster Graves Yamaha Transporter, and a special event visor and commemorative lanyard.

Yamaha riders purchasing the package also receive reserved parking access and an invitation to a Fan Lap ride on the Laguna Seca circuit on the Friday. Continue Reading »

Motorcycle.com‘s MotoGP contest is coming to a close but there’s still time to enter for your chance to win tickets to the 2012 U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca.

Entering is easy. Just hop over to our Facebook page and “Like” us. Then go to our contest page and follow the instructions to complete a survey. The contest is open until the end of the month so there’s still time! The winner will be selected and announced in May. A word of note: we’ve found some people have problems accessing the contest page because of their browser’s ad blocker. If you have trouble, try disabling the ad blocker momentarily.

The grand prize includes airfare for two, accommodation for three nights and a pair of general admission tickets to watch the action at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Continue Reading »

Kenny Roberts and Eddie Lawson will join up to 200 fans in riding Laguna Seca July 22 during the U.S. Grand Prix.

Fans purchasing a special weekend ticket promotional package from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will have opportunity to ride several laps with the two former World Champions.

Roberts (1978-1980) and Lawson (1984,1986, 1988-1989) hold seven 500cc Grand Prix world championships between them, all but Lawson’s final title on the Yamaha YZR500. Roberts and Lawson will ride GYT-R equipped Yamaha YZF-R1 sportbikes for their parade laps which will take place during a break between practice and race qualifying.

“This special fan opportunity is part of a weekend of celebrations that Yamaha has planned in honor of our 50th Anniversary Celebration of World GP Racing,” said Bob Starr, communication manager for Yamaha’s motorsports group. “This event Friday is just part of the surprises we have for MotoGP fans for the entire weekend!”

Press release after the jump

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