COSTA MESA, Calif. – Yamaha is partnering with Attack Performance to field a MotoAmerica Superbike team next season featuring four-time and reigning champion Cameron Beaubier and Jake Gagne.
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. is following a team structure model used by Yamaha Motor Europe in World Superbike with the announcement of its two-year agreement today with Attack Performance, the Richard Stanboli-owned team fielded bikes for Josh Herrin and J.D. Beach in 2018 and 2019, respectively, in one-rider teams in the MotoAmerica Superbike division.
Along with sponsorship from Monster Energy, the team will receive the full support of both Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. and Yamaha Motor Europe.
“When we started planning the new direction for our Superbike team, the first company we thought of was Attack Performance,” said Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing team manager Tom Halverson in a team release. “They have the skill, desire and passion needed to win. Combining our resources, knowledge and personnel with theirs should make for a super-competitive organization. We will work closely together to make everything gel before the first race so we can start the season off strong. From there, we are confident that the team and riders will only get stronger and be in contention for another MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
“Of course, having Cameron (Beaubier) back is key, and we are so pleased he has decided to stay in the U.S. and race with us for at least two more seasons. We are also very happy to have Jake Gagne join us as Cameron’s teammate. Jake is a very talented and popular rider, and I’m sure he will take full advantage of this opportunity and be in the hunt right away.
“Lastly, we wish Garrett (Gerloff) all the success he deserves. We will miss him in the paddock and on the track, but we are also very happy he is able to pursue his dreams and race with Yamaha on the world stage.”
It was announced earlier today that Gerloff will be moving to the World Superbike Championship with the GRT Yamaha team.
Beaubier, however, will be back, the 38-time AMA Superbike race winner hoping to earn a fifth MotoAmerica Superbike crown.
“I’m looking toward 2020,” Beaubier said. “There will be some changes within our team, but we will always have the same goal. I’ve been working with my crew chief Rick Hobbs ever since I started racing in Superbike back in 2014, but he is retiring this year. We had an amazing run together, and we are on to a new chapter. I am really excited to be working with Attack Performance. The guys at Yamaha, with the addition of Richard Stanboli’s knowledge, I feel confident that they will build a weapon out of the 2020 R1.”
“Everyone at Attack Performance is very excited to expand our partnership and collaboration with a great company, Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.,” Stanboli said in the team release. “We have worked with a number of OEMs over the past two decades, and our most recent experience with Yamaha has been nothing but rewarding. The R1 has been a fantastic machine that allowed us, as a private team, to effectively race for the top step of the podium and compete for the championship. In 2020, we will bring to bear everything we have learned, in combination with Yamaha’s wealth of knowledge, to the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship. We will settle for nothing short of the top spot at every single event.
“We are also excited to work with two champions, Cameron Beaubier and Jake Gagne. Cameron is a proven competitor who is a true deal closer. We have all watched him beat the competition with closing-lap charges that are nothing short of amazing. Jake is also a Yamaha champion with a wealth of talent and potential. His best days are right around the corner, and we are eager to help him.”
Gagne, who like Beaubier is 26 years old, raced a Scheibe Racing BMW to eighth in the MotoAmerica Superbike points a season after getting a taste of the World Superbike Championship with the Red Bull Honda team. In addition to his 2015 MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 title, which he won while racing a Yamaha YZF-R1, Gagne was crowned AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Champion in 2014 on a Yamaha YZF-R6.
“I could not be more thrilled to go Yamaha Superbike racing,” Gagne said in the team release. “I want to extend a massive thank you to Keith (McCarty, Motorsports Racing Division Manager for YMUS), Tom (Halverson), Jim (Roach, Technical Division Manager for YMUS) and the entire Yamaha family for their belief and nonstop support. It’s a dream come true to be aboard the championship-winning machine and surrounded by such a huge amount of experience and knowledge. I’ve been fortunate to have had my most successful racing years aboard a Yamaha, so I feel like I’m back at home.
“Also, I’m really looking forward to working with Richard Stanboli at Attack Performance. I’m filled with motivation, and I’m really looking forward to a productive off-season of training and riding. I know the Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing team will be a very strong force the next two years, and I’m really looking forward to stepping in alongside my new teammate and reigning champ Cameron Beaubier. I know we will both do our best to bring home wins and move the whole package forward. I’m counting down the days till I get to swing a leg over the R1 and start spinning laps with the team. Thanks again to the entire Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing team and all the great sponsors and supporters, as well as MotoAmerica and all the fans who keep us going.”