The following is a press release from Graves Motorsports…Team Zyvax created their own fireworks on the track during the 4th of July WERA Endurance weekend races at Grattan Raceway in Belding, MI. Despite the big power of the team’s Yamaha R1, the little brother Yamaha R6 stood out as the champion in all out lap times during the shortened endurance race.
Perfect weather and perfectly prepped bikes and riders could not outweigh the less than perfect track conditions at Grattan Raceway last weekend. Track surface issues and resulting clean-up efforts caused cancelled practices on Friday and a shortened endurance race on Saturday.
Taking it all in stride, guest rider Jason Disalvo with team riders Dane Westby and Clinton Seller put in careful but lightning quick laps on their Team Zyvax / Graves Motorsports prepped Yamaha R6. With the help of his uncatchable R6, Westby bought his team an early thirty-seven second lead and set the pace with the fastest lap time of the race. Despite poor track conditions, Westby was a full second quicker than the fastest lap of the same race in 2009 set by Tray Batey.
“I just went crazy from the beginning; flying off the jump, landing at the apex and flicking it in,” said Westby after his first stint, referencing the famous Grattan Jump. He also commented on the track saying, “It was getting better each lap. Turn three was okay if you stayed way inside and turn two is still a little sketchy.”
Ben Bostrom and Chris Clark astride their Graves Motorsports prepped / Team Zyvax Yamaha R1 had their work cut out for them. Both Zyvax R1 riders were new to Grattan Raceway and they too were forced to deal with the loss of track time. Even more challenging was hooking up the more powerful R1. Bostrom and Clark had to adapt to track conditions and work hard to get horsepower to the track. “The R6 has loads of grip!” said a slightly envious Bostrom at the end of his first stint, “Dane just left me! But I was having so much fun learning each hole on the track. It got more exciting every lap.”
Former AMA Champion Kurtis Roberts’ scheduled guest ride with Bostrom and Clark was shelved by the shortened race, forcing the team to adjust their race strategy. Unfortunately the adjusted strategy left Roberts without a stint in the race.
Team Zyvax marked the halfway point of the season at Grattan by solidifying the first place championship positions of both the R1 and the R6 in their respective classes. In overall championship points the Zyvax Teams are first and second with the R1 holding a narrow four point spread over the R6.
“What a race!” exclaimed ecstatic team owner JB Layman, “The little R6 finished on top over the big R1. The riders adapted to the changing track conditions and were able to get the most out of the bikes. This is our team’s best performance so far.”
Team Zyvax is sponsored by Zyvax, Inc., Graves Motorsports and Dunlop. Check out www.teamzyvax.com for team news and details.
