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Yamaha Announces 2008 ATV Factory Race Team
Four Returning Champions Sign with
Yamaha
CYPRESS, California,
November 15, 2007 – Yamaha Motor Corp.,
U.S.A. is proud to announce its 2008 ATV Factory
race team. Yamaha’s sponsored riders
include Bill Ballance, Traci Cecco, Brandon
Sommers, Pat Brown and Dustin Nelson. The
team was announced with many of the members
on-hand today at the 2008 Team Yamaha Race Day
at Yamaha’s U.S. headquarters in Cypress,
California.
“Yamaha has the most talented group of riders in
the country, from our long-time, record-breaking
racers like Bill and Traci to our new generation
of champions like Brandon and Pat,” said Keith
McCarty, Yamaha’s racing division manager.
“Our team and the success they continue to enjoy
on the YFZ450, whether on a cross country or
motocross track, are a testament to Yamaha’s
commitment to racing excellence in the machines
we build and the competitors we support.”
Bill Ballance (http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/racing/bill_ballance.aspx)
returns for another year as a Yamaha team racer.
Ballance captured a record-breaking eighth Grand
National Cross Country (GNCC) XC1 title this
year and has been called the best ATV racer of
all time. He will return to GNCC in an
attempt to break his own record with a ninth
title in 2008.
Traci Cecco (http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/racing/traci_cecco.aspx)
returned for another year with Yamaha after
winning her unprecedented sixth women’s GNCC
title in 2007. A true champion, Cecco
captured her series title long before the
culminating GNCC Ironman event, but still
hammered on the final course finishing first
over-all in the morning race.
Brandon Sommers, who captured the 2007 GNCC XC2
class championship by winning 10 of 13 rounds,
and who also finished fourth in the final two
rounds of the XC1 class, has signed with Yamaha
for the first time in 2008.
Pat Brown has signed for 2008 with Yamaha after
finishing the 2007 AMA Pro ATV Motocross
Championship in third place as well as becoming
the 2007 AMA ATV Open Champion at the inaugural
event held at the Steel City event in Delmont,
Pennsylvania. Brown has big plans to build
on the momentum from this dominating performance
moving into the 2008 racing season.
Dustin Nelson, the reigning Yamaha/ITP QuadCross
Champion in the MX Pro Class, is returning for
his second year and will focus on regaining his
Championship in the Quadcross series and select
events throughout the 2008 season. Injured
for part of the 2007 season, Nelson is fully
recovered and racing hard again as he moves into
2008.
Yamaha recently announced the 2008 YFZ450 – the
latest version of the leading high-performance
450-class sport ATV, which is ridden by all
Yamaha Factory race team members. The
YFZ450 continues to capture championships and is
a tough and capable vehicle in a variety of
racing situations – from cross country trails to
motocross tracks. For more information go
to
http://www.yamaha-motor.com.
About Yamaha:
Yamaha ATVs and SxS vehicles are designed,
engineered and built tough! Yamaha Motor Corp.,
U.S.A. headquarters are located in Cypress,
California. For more information on Yamaha,
visit
www.yamaha-motor.com.
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