AMASBK: Round #1 - Daytona 200 Yamaha Garrett Gerloff Race Report

Yamaha Motor Company Press Release:

Yamaha has had a lot of success and good fortune in the Daytona 200, with 22 victories to its credit but, unfortunately, the 73rd running of America’s iconic motorcycle race did not go quite as the Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha team hoped.

However, RoadRace Factory/Yamaha rider Jake Gagne and MotoSport.com/Meen Yamaha rider Jake Lewis did take up the cause for the Yamaha brand and finished the Daytona 200 in second and third place, respectively.

Meanwhile, Garrett Gerloff, who finished second to his former teammate Cameron Beaubier, winner of last year's Daytona 200, suffered a tip over shortly after his first pitstop of the 57-lap race. The mishap forced Garrett to return to the pits for an unscheduled stop in order for his crew to make repairs to his #8 Y.E.S./Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha YZF-R6. Despite the setback, Garrett still managed to work his way back up to fifth place by the end of the race.

“I wish I hadn’t made a mistake,” Garrett said. “My crew worked so hard to give me a fast bike, and I low-sided it on the lap right after my first pitstop. I had some trouble getting it pulled out of the airfence, but it fired up pretty quickly and looked mostly OK. Still, I decided to re-pit to make sure everything was OK. The worst damage was to the fairing. I lost the windscreen, which made things pretty tough out on the banking.” When asked about his remarkable run back up to fifth position, he said, rather succinctly, “Lemonade out of lemons, I guess. I’d much rather have won the race and not crashed.”

Garrett’s new teammate for 2014, JD Beach, was running a smooth and steady race until he also had a tipover, which damaged his #6 R6. The repairs to JD’s Yamaha were a little more extensive than those required for Garrett’s bike. While in the pits, JD was also evaluated for a concussion and, as a precautionary measure, the team took him to Halifax Medical Center for further tests, just to be safe. No further information was immediately available.

For more information: www.yamaha-motor.com