Braselton, GA - April 18, 2015 – In almost no time at all, new Yamalube/Westby Racing rider Josh Day has come to grips (literally) with the #00 Yamaha YZF-R1 in MotoAmerica’s Superstock 1000 class. In Saturday’s Superpole event at Road Atlanta, Josh won the pole and was also the fourth-fastest rider on track in the combined Superbike/Superstock 1000 session, which puts him on the second row for Sunday’s two races.

 

 

An experienced racer who competed in the FIM European Superstock 1000 series last year, Josh joined Yamalube/Westby Racing earlier this week, and he’s had a fast start right out of the gate for his new team and crew.

 

 

Josh qualified provisionally in seventh, which transferred him directly into the 15-minute Superpole 2 session where the 12 fastest Superbike/Superpole riders would set the front of the grid. The session started out wet, but the sun came out, and the track started to dry, at least on the racing line. That made conditions a little more challenging with the surface not dry enough for slicks, but a little too dry to be ideal for rain tires. For Josh, the track conditions were obviously just right.

 

 

“We made quite a few changes to the bike and were expecting a dry Superpole," Josh commented. “The new R1 is super-forgiving, though, and the setup was perfect even in the wet. I’ve always gone well on the R6, and this R1 is kind of like an R6 on steroids. It suits me so well. It’s only my second day, and third or fourth session, on the bike. Everybody’s been saying it’s a great bike, and I agree completely. It’s definitely the best bike I’ve ever been on.

 

 

“For Superpole, I concentrated on being smooth, and not making mistakes. I think my whole experience in Europe taught me a lot about being smooth on the bike. I actually did my fastest lap on my last lap. I kind of got held up on that last lap by another rider, so I was a little surprised that I got pole because I might have been a second faster than I ended up.”

 

 

The MotoAmerica Superbike/Superstock 1000 class will race twice on Sunday at Road Atlanta. Race 1 goes green tomorrow morning at 11:30 AM EST, and Race 2 starts at 3:20 PM EST. Go to www.MotoAmerica.com, click on “Road Atlanta” on the “Schedule” link, and scroll down for the live streaming link to watch the races live online.