The following is from Yamaha…
Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing brings aboard JD Beach to race the MotoAmerica Superbike triple-header at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex on August 18-20. The flat track racer returns to the paddock to fill in for Cameron Petersen, who is focusing on returning to full fitness from a wrist injury that has sidelined him from the remaining rounds of the season.
Over the past five seasons, Beach has been battling for top honors in the American Flat Track Mission SuperTwins Championship with the Estenson Racing team aboard their Yamaha MT-07s. The multi-time road race champion with dirt track roots has enjoyed success with Yamaha in both disciplines and also has a history with Attack Performance. Beach raced for the team during his debut Superbike season in 2011 and also during the 2019 MotoAmerica Superbike season when he raced both MotoAmerica and AFT premier classes, scoring his first SuperTwins and Superbike victory on back-to-back weekends.
In addition to the PIRC round, Beach will head straight from the American Flat Track Sturgis Half-Mile to ride the Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing R1 at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) test on August 7-8. Josh Hayes, who rode Petersen’s bike this past weekend at Round 6 of the championship in Brainerd, Minnesota, will also ride the team’s R1 during the morning sessions on the first day of the COTA test. The fill-in rider for the final two rounds will be announced at a later date.
Richard Stanboli – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“It will be a pleasure to work with JD again. He is always motivated and positive. We have some history together and good communication, so it will be very easy for him to jump right in and get to work. He last rode our R1 in 2021 at BIR as a last-minute fill-in rider. It will be interesting to get his reaction to our 2023 R1 and how it may compare to Josh Hayes’ comments, who will also be at our test next week. It should be good fun and a learning experience for everyone.”
JD Beach – Estenson Racing
“First off, I want to thank the Estenson Racing team for allowing me to do this. I’d also like to thank Yamaha and Attack for thinking of me to fill this role. I know I’ve got some big shoes to fill because Cam has been fast the last year and a half, as well as Hayes last weekend at Brainerd. I know this is going to be tough coming in as a fill-in rider, but I’m up for the challenge. I’m excited to get some seat time on a factory Superbike. I’m not sure that I will get the opportunity again, so I want to give it all I got. I want to do the best I can for the team and help them with the points, but I am also still focused on the final AFT rounds too.”