Cypress, CA March 20, 2012 – Tommy Hayden, who was called into last-minute duty for the Daytona 200 after Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha team rider Garrett Gerloff was injured in the first practice session of the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike season, is testing today and Wednesday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Hayden finished a very impressive 7th in the Daytona 200, and he will continue to race the Number 8 Yamaha YZF-R6® at the next two DSB rounds, including Road Atlanta on April 22-22 Road Atlanta and Infineon Raceway on May 4-6.
Keith McCarty, Motorsports Racing Division Manager for Yamaha, said, “Garrett is on the mend and in good spirits after his unfortunate injury last Thursday. We’ll continue to monitor his progress, and we’re looking forward to his return to the team. He fractured his right femur, and that’s a serious injury. We all want to make sure the bone heals properly. Garrett just turned 16 last summer, so he’s obviously a very young rider. He’s also very talented, too. Garrett, his family, and all of us at Yamaha want to make sure he’s back to 100% before he climbs back aboard his R6. Meanwhile, we’ve got a very experienced and capable replacement rider in Tommy Hayden, who rode for us a few years ago, so we’re at Homestead today and tomorrow, and Tommy is getting more and more comfortable on the R6 with each lap he takes.”
Tommy and his Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha teammate Cameron Beaubier are both testing for the next two days and looking forward to the Big Kahuna Atlanta at Road Atlanta next month. Cameron finished 3rd in last Saturday’s Daytona 200.
