MotoAmerica Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 http://cf.c.ooyala.com/hnamIzMTE6r7A_DvTh0RpAR-iJ9LwH28/QCdjB5HwFOTaWQ8X4xMDoxOjBzMTt2bJ Please enable Javascript to watch this video Several of MotoAmerica's top teams tested for a third time this off-season at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Northern California, February 17-18, in what was the final shakedown test prior to the official team test at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, March 23-24. Yoshimura Suzuki's Roger Hayden and Jake Lewis; Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Factory Racing's Cameron Beaubier and Josh Hayes; Meen Motorsports' Josh Herrin, Joe Roberts; HB Racing/Meen Motorsports' Dakota Mamola and Richie Escalante; Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha's JD Beach and Garrett Gerloff; and the Latus Motors Racing Kawasaki team of Bobby Fong and David Anthony made up the 11-rider roster of testers burning laps at the three-mile racetrack in Willows, California. Photo by Brian J. Nelson The 1s: MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier leads Supersport Champion JD Beach during a two-day test at Thunderhill Raceway Park. The test was interrupted by rain on the morning of the second day and both days were hampered by cold and windy conditions though it was still considered a success by the majority of the teams involved. "We had a couple of new parts to try, a couple of different shocks and stuff, and I feel like we definitely made forward progress," said defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier. "Our lap times weren't as good as in previous tests here, but I definitely think we made a step in the right direction and it's always good to ride. It set us up good for the COTA test and by that time we'll be thinking about going racing." Photo by Brian J. Nelson Yoshimura Suzuki's Roger Hayden's test was hampered by illness that kept the Superbike racer off the racetrack for the majority of day two. The test saw the debut of Latus Motors Racing's new Superstock 1000-spec Kawasaki ZX-10Rs that Bobby Fong and David Anthony will race in the 2016 championship. The duo were busy turning laps on the new bike in an effort to get it close to race ready for the COTA test, but both riders were impressed with how good the new bike is in near-stock form. "I like it—the Kawasaki is good," said Anthony near the end of day two. "For coming straight out of the box, it's really good. We made a lot of changes, but we pretty much went back to where we started, back to how we turned up here with it. We've got one more test, the COTA test, and that's it, so it's hard to judge where we stand. We're still a few seconds off the Superbikes, but it's hard to tell. Superstock-wise, we're all about the same speed. I think we'll be close right away." Photo by Brian J. Nelson Latus Motors Racing's Bobby Fong (50) and teammate David Anthony spent two days on the new Kawasaki ZX-10R and came away impressed with the performance of the new machine. The test also saw the debut of HB Racing/Meen Motorsports' Dakota Mamola on American soil. Mamola, who is coming off a year and a half sabbatical from racing, spent his two days getting the rust off. Mamola, the son of Grand Prix legend Randy Mamola, also had former AMA Superbike star Kurtis Roberts offering assistance at the test. "I've ridden dirt track, Supermotard and motocross, but I haven't ridden an actual road racer like this in a long time," Mamola said. "I did an hour at the Leon Haslam school and that's it. Yesterday was tough because I had to learn the track, get back on a bike, and the wind didn't really help. It was a lot at one time, but now on day two we are starting to get there. Now things start getting complicated when you have to change shocks and get the setup. I'm enjoying it and I want to thank Ameen [Sajjadi, Meen Motorsports team owner] and the whole HB Racing team for giving me this chance. Hopefully, we can do something good. It's good to be back here in the US." Photo by Brian J. Nelson Meen Motorsports' Josh Herrin (2) and Joe Roberts rode their Superstock 1000 and Supersport Yamahas at the Thunderhill test. Two riders were injured at the test with HB Racing/Meen Motorsports Richie Escalante suffering a fractured knee and broken finger and Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha's JD Beach escaping from his crash on the afternoon of day two with a bruised pelvis. The two-day MotoAmerica Preseason Test powered by Dunlop at Circuit of The Americas will take place March 23-24 and is open to spectators for free. The 2016 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship also begins at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, April 8-10, with round one of the nine-round, 18-race season. For ticket information, click here. Photo by Brian J. Nelson Dakota Mamola made his debut on the HB Racing/Meen Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6 at Thunderhill. View the full article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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