It looks like Yamaha is betting big money on the all-new, updated YZF-R1 machine. The house of Iwata is planning a full-on charge in the Superbike classes, with special care given to the equally new MotoAmerica series. Whether the new AMA competition will be able to revive the stateside scene and bring back the interest to the old glory days remains to be seen. Fact is that in April, there’s big action in Austin, and we’ll get to see how the new R1 fares against the competition.
Yamaha has started to deliver videos which show the progress their machines make from the stock trim to the high-performance specs required by road racing series, and the one below is the first episode of the “road to Austin” saga.
The season opener hosted by the MotoGP round
MotoAmerica is the brainchild of Wayne Rainey, and is an effort to bring back the excitement of motorcycle racing to the levels it enjoyed in the past. MotoAmerica was created in 2014, and is “an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership that includes three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey; ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland; motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges; and businessman Richard Varner,” as CW informs.
Yamaha has won the last 5 editions of the AMA Superbike series and is obviously eyeing to maintain the winning streak as long as possible.
MotoAmerica is so far comprised of 8 rounds, with the kick-off race being scheduled April 10-12, the same weekend when the MotoGP action drops at the Circuit of the Americas track in Austin, Texas. Other famous MotoGP venues for MotoAmerica include Laguna Seca and the Indianapolis Brickyard, even though the former is not in the premier class calendar for 2015.
The calendar of the 2015 MotoAmerica:
• April 10-12 Circuit of the Americas – Austin, Texas
• April 17-19 Road Atlanta – Braselton, Georgia
• May 15-17 Virginia International Raceway – Alton, Virginia
• May 29-31 Road America – Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
• June 12-14 Barber Motorsports Park – Birmingham, Alabama
• July 17-19 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – Monterey, California
• August 7-9 Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Indianapolis, Indiana
• Sept. 11-13 New Jersey Motorsports Park – Millville, New Jersey.
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