Morning Rain Did Not Dampen The Spirit Of Yamalube/Westby Racing As Josh Day Finishes Strong At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Monterey, CA - July 19, 2015 – Changeable track conditions on Sunday morning at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca forced the MotoAmerica Superbike and Superstock 1000 teams and riders to make some tough decisions on tires. Due to a wet, but drying track, and skies that were still threatening to rain in Race 1, the choice of whether to race on slicks, full rain tires, intermediate tires, or some combination of those options was an important one.
The Yamalube/Westby Racing team chose full rain tires, since it appeared that the wet track was going to stay that way for the entire race due to the expectation of continued precipitation. When that didn’t happen, and the track quickly began to dry, the softer-compound rain tires became an insurmountable issue for Josh Day, the rider of the #00 Yamalube/Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1. Forced to return to the pits, Josh’s crew replaced the heavily worn rear rain tire on his bike with a racing slick. He quickly went back out on track with improved traction, and proceeded to systematically make it all the back up to eighth place in the Superstock 1000 field by the time the checkered flag flew.
For Race 2, held late in the afternoon, the weather conditions were greatly improved and yielded a dry race from start to finish, enabling Josh to get a good start and run fast laptimes. He looked all set to get third in the race, but a lapped rider thwarted his potential podium. The friendly Floridian ultimately had to settle for fourth place to end the weekend.
Commenting on his first-ever weekend of racing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Josh said, “All things considered, I'm happy with the way Laguna went for me this weekend. It was my first time here, and I feel like we did well. It would have been nice to get on the podium in the second race, but I got balked behind a lapped rider. It cost me time and allowed the rider behind me to get past me right at the end of the race. There wasn’t enough track left to try to make a move back into second, and put the #00 Yamalube/Westby Racing R1 on the podium. So, now, we turn our focus to Indianapolis where I am determined to be on the podium for both races there.”
As Josh alluded to, Yamalube/Westby Racing will return to action on the weekend of August 7-9, when the MotoAmerica series shares the world stage at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix.
Watch Round 7 Of The MotoAmerica Championship on CBS Sports
MotoAmerica Round 7 from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will air on Sunday, July 26, at 2:00 PM EST, with a re-air later that day at 5:00 PM EST and a second re-air on Wednesday, July 29, at 8:00 PM.
For the complete MotoAmerica TV broadcast schedule on CBS Sports Network, visit http://www.motoamerica.com/motoamerica-tv-schedule
About Yamalube
Located in Kennesaw, GA, under Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.’s (YMUS) Customer Support Group (CSG), Yamalube formulates the only oil “built around” the unique demands, operating characteristics, and applications of the various motorsports engines produced. In 1967, after more than a decade of racing and countless wins, Yamaha set off to conquer a new arena--racing oil. Collaborating with Yamaha engine designers, Yamalube's global oil engineers formulate each oil from scratch, to be engine- and application-specific. Yamalube also makes lubricants, quality care products, maintenance products, fork oils, fuel additives, and adhesives. Get connected with "YamalubeUSA" on your favorite social media platform.
