Yamaha Announces 2010 Race Teams

Courtesy of Yamaha Motor Corp
Cypress California, Dec 18, 2009 –Yamaha Motor Corporation is proud to announce our largest ever contingent of Supercross/Motocross race teams for the 2010 season, this after a highly successful 2009 season, which saw San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart pilot his 2009 YZ450F to the prestigious 2009 FIM World Supercross title.
Team L&M and San Manuel Yamaha will once again have Stewart at the helm pursuing his third Supercross Championship. With a successful off-season and the all new 2010 YZ450F at his disposal, James is looking forward to making this season a most memorable one. James’ teammate at San Manuel Yamaha will be Josh Hill. A product of Yamaha’s amateur program, Josh has already proven himself as a threat to win main events after his maiden victory at Minneapolis in 2008. Josh returns fit and is ready for a fresh start and the opportunity to return to his rightful place on the podium.
Joe Gibbs Racing/Muscle Milk/Toyota team has 2009 Anaheim 1 winner Josh Grant returning for his sophomore season in the premier Supercross class. The surprise of 2009 with his solid performances both indoors and outdoors, Josh made the transition from the Lites class look easy. Joining him is newcomer to the team Justin Brayton. Winning the final AMA National moto of the year was a true breakthrough for Justin and combined with his impressive off-season performances, Justin starts out the 2010 Season ready for action.
DNA Shred Stix/Star Racing continues to be Yamaha’s official Lites team and with the new 2010 YZ250F, the team is ready for a successful season. During the off-season Star Racing made quite a few impressive rider acquisitions, hiring Nico Izzi, Martin Davalos and Max Anstie. Returning is team captain Broc Tickle who had his best season ever in 2009. Currently Tickle and Izzi are set to ride the West Coast rounds and Davalos and Anstie the East Coast rounds.
MotoConcepts Racing is joining the Yamaha Family for 2010. With the leadership of Michael Young as their Team Director and a successful freshman season under their belt, the team is looking to go big in 2010. Led by 450 riders Matt Goerke and Dan Reardon the team is looking to make an impact right off the bat. MotoConcepts will field four Lites riders, with seasoned veterans Ryan Sipes and Jeff Alessi showing the ropes to Vince Friese and Yamaha’s amateur standout Travis Baker. Alessi and Baker are set to race the West Coast rounds and Sipes and Friese the East Coast rounds.
After a very successful outdoor season in 2009, Valli Motorsports team owner Chad Lanza is entering the world of Supercross in a big way for 2010 with the hiring of two-time Supercross Lites Champion and 2005 AMA Lites National Champion Ivan Tedesco to be their premier class rider. With a wealth of experience, Tedesco is the perfect guy to put the Valli Motorsports 2010 YZ450F on the podium on a weekly basis. Joining Ivan is rookie standout Kyle Regal who had some inspiring rides during the outdoor season with Valli Motorsports. Fresh out of the amateur ranks, Kyle’s entering his freshman season in Supercross, set to ride the West Coast rounds on the YZ250F and will be switching to the YZ450F for the outdoors.
Finally, former 125 AMA National Champion, 450 AMA National Champion and two-time Lites Supercross Champion Grant Langston will be returning to action in 2010 after embarking on a partnership with the JLaw/ampm/Boost Mobile Racing team. A fan favorite, Langston has battled back from a serious eye issue that almost had him retiring prematurely. Langston will be joined by another fan favorite and former West Coast Lites Champion, Jason Lawrence. Rounding out the team will be Sean Hamblin and Ryan Newton.
Riding Yamaha’s would be enough for riders like James Stewart, Nico Izzi, Ivan Tedesco and their teams to have a competitive advantage, but they also choose to outfit their race bikes with Yamaha’s exclusive line of GYTR (Genuine Yamaha Technology Racing) engine performance and functional products and Yamalube’s range of high performance lubricants.
“Unfortunately, there are only three positions on the podium!”, said Yamaha’s Racing Division Manager, Keith McCarty. “We have established strong new partnerships with some of the best and brightest Teams for the 2010 season and we look for Yamaha along with our in-house partners Yamalube, and GYTR to be the brands of choice!”