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After a long wait of six years, Yamaha finally launched the newest iteration of litre-class flagship superbike, the YZF-R1, at the 2014 EICMA Show. And while it might seem that the R&D team heads off for a vacation once the motorcycle has been launched in the market, the truth is that the engineers from Yamaha are working hard on preparing the new R1 for the MotoAmerica AMA Superbike Series.
Yamaha, last week, revealed the second episode of its ‘Road to Austin’ series, where American Grand Prix motorcycle racer Cameron Beaubier puts a stock Yamaha R1 through its paces on the Chuckwalla Raceway in California. Being a completely new motorcycle, this is the first time that Beaubier got to ride the new R1 and he goes on to give an insight into how the new R1, even in its stock form, is an excellent track tool.
Racing for Monster Energy Graves Yamaha team, Beaubier will compete in AMA Superbike Series in three months time on a souped-up R1. We can expect the future instalments of the Road to Austin series to give us a peek into how manufacturers prepare their motorcycles for racing championships. Catch the new R1 in action at the Chuckwalla Raceway here.
