The day after Cameron Beaubier won the inaugural MotoAmerica Superbike championship title on his Monster Energy Graves Yamaha YZF-R1, Senior Editor Blake Conner had the opportunity to sample that race bike on the track at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Blake, as you might expect, was totally impressed by race R1, especially its power, its fueling, its suspension, and its high overall level of refinement. No surprise, the new Yamaha R1, in the hands of Beaubier and 4-time champion Josh Hayes, went undefeated in 2015, winning all 18 MotoAmerica Superbike races. Incidentally, the R1s of Beaubier and Hayes wore Yamaha's special yellow 60th Anniversary paint and graphics on Sunday at New Jersey. Said Keith McCarty, Yamaha's Motorsports Racing Division Manager: “The yellow-and-black livery is very special to all of us at Yamaha. Not only Kenny Roberts, but Kel Carruthers, Jarno Saarinen, Gene Romero, Eddie Lawson, and lots of other Yamaha roadracers competed in yellow-and-black leathers and helmets, and aboard Yamaha racebikes with the yellow-and-black livery."
