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Yamaha
Announces 2009 ATV Factory Race Team
Race Team Members Prepare to Compete on All-New
YFZ450R in 2009
CYPRESS, Calif. – November 14, 2008 – Yamaha
Motor Corp., U.S.A., is proud to announce the
2009 ATV Yamaha Factory Race Team. Riding
for Yamaha in 2009 will be Bill Ballance, Traci
Cecco, Brandon Sommers, Pat Brown and Dustin
Nelson. The announcement was made at
Yamaha’s corporate headquarters this morning in
Cypress, Calif.
“Yamaha’s 2009 ATV race team is packed full of
top talent in national cross-country and
motocross racing,” said Keith McCarty, Yamaha’s
racing division manager. “Next season is
shaping up to be an exciting year for Yamaha ATV
racing. Whether it is Dustin competing for
another championship on the MX tracks or Bill
going for his tenth straight championship on the
trails -- all of the racers will be on the new
YFZ450R and it’s going to be fun to watch.”
More on Yamaha’s 2009 ATV Factory Race Team
members:
Bill Ballance captured his latest title this
year in the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC)
XC1 Pro series and is widely considered the best
ATV racer of all time. Ballance holds a
record nine consecutive GNCC championship titles
and will be competing for number 10 next year.
He continues to inspire the entire Yamaha ATV
race team with his racing experience and
leadership. Ballance is from Smiths Grove,
Kentucky, and runs the #1 plate.
Traci Cecco secured her unprecedented seventh
GNCC women’s title this year in a heated Ironman
Finale. Cecco is a veteran of the Yamaha
race team and returns in 2009 to try to break
her own GNCC women’s racing record. She
lives in Shamokin, Penn., and runs #201.
Brandon Sommers captured the GNCC XC2 class
championship in 2007 and moved up to the XC1
class this year. He finished an impressive
fifth place in his first XC1 Pro season.
This will be Sommers second year racing for Team
Yamaha. Sommers is from Millersburg, Ohio,
and runs #784.
Pat Brown is a top competitor for Yamaha in the
AMA pro ATV motocross series. He has won
major events including the inaugural AMA ATV
Open Championship in 2007 at Steel City in
Delmont, Penn., and the Montreal Supercross at
the Montreal Olympic Stadium this September.
Brown is from Pittstown, New Jersey, and runs
the #199 plate.
Dustin Nelson is the 2008 Yamaha/ITP Quadcross
MX Pro Class champion. This was the second
year Nelson took this title. Besides being
a top ATV MX racer, Nelson is a veteran Yamaha
test rider and was very involved in the
development of the all-new YFZ450R. Nelson
will be the first person to race the new YFZ450R
when he competes at the Quadcross Finale at Glen
Helen on November 30. He lives in Ramona,
Calif., and runs #94.
Yamaha announced the highly anticipated and
all-new YFZ450R at its national dealer meeting
in Las Vegas this September. The new 2009
model year machine, built to be the world’s best
all-around high performance racing and
recreational sport ATV, comes loaded with
state-of-the-art suspension, fuel injection, a
no-weld aluminum frame and an all-new power
packed engine set in a motocross-wide chassis.
Yamaha race team bios are available at:
http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/events/racinghome/home.aspx
and more information on the new YFZ450R is
available at:
http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/products/modelhome/620/0/home.aspx
About Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A.
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (YMUS), a
leader in the motorsports market, makes the
toughest, most capable and versatile ATV and
Side-by-Side vehicles. The company’s
ever-expanding product offerings also include
motorcycles, outboard motors, personal
watercraft, snowmobiles, boats, outdoor power
equipment, race kart engines, accessories,
apparel and much more. YMUS products are sold
through a nationwide network of more than 4,000
dealers in the United States.
Headquartered in Cypress, Calif., since its
incorporation in 1977, YMUS also has facilities
in Wisconsin and Georgia, as well as factory
operations in Tennessee and Georgia. For more
information on Yamaha, visit
www.yamaha-motor.com.
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