Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127775
Talledega. After further tweaking on his 1985 Yamah a RZ350, the yo u ng s te r went on to start his road racing career in earnest in 1992, winning every D Superbike and Formula Two trophy he could get his hands on . Then came a WERA D Superbike ovice ational title at the Grand National Final , held annually at Road Atlanta in October. In 1993, Yates turned Expert, riding an ex-Mike Harth Honda CBR600 to "like 20-something down here at Daytona" in his first-ever AMA 600cc Supersport final. Along the way, Yates also picked up a Suzuki GSXR750, and it's been on a GSXR that he's been building his resume ever since. At the end of 1992, Yates sent a resume to Team Suzuki Spor ts -Brll Syfan. He got no reply. A yea r later, Syfan sta rted making up for it. Yates was given Suzuki support and it was Syfan who helped Yates get the Yoshimura Suzuki deal for 1996. "He was kinda pushin' for me a little," Yates said of Syfan. "He wanted to See somebody come out of his program and go into the Yosh team, the full factory rid e. (Eraldo) Ferracci was talking to me a littl e bit the last few races (of 1995). He was offering a bike for me to ride at th e last race or two. 1 w as telling Bill abo ut that and he sa id, 'You don 't want to do that .' Bill told the guys at Suzuki about Ducati being int erested. Ferracci laid out what he had to offe r me and 1 told Bill. Syfa n ta lked to Suzuki an d a few days later 1 go t a call that 1 need ed to spea k with Mr. Itoh . 1 did that and he had a pretty sweet program for me and 1 jumped on it. It was originally just for Superbi ke , but since Fred (Merke l) didn't come back they asked me if 1 was interested in that also . So I felt even better about that because 1 wa nted to d o that. too ." Yates had d rawn atte ntion to himself with adm irab le rid es in the 750cc Supe rsport class in 1995, as well as spi rite d ou tings o n th e Cycle Motion Racing end u rance Suzuki. Both helped hone the skills that he' s already putting to use in 1996. "1 th in k riding the endurance bike was a big help because it was so fast," Yates sa id. "It has a totally different powerband, a lot of torque, and it pulled hard. Just riding it and getting used to a ll that and then getting on a Superbike... And you also learn things on the Supersport bike that you can go with on th e Superbike, and it goes back and forth . 1 was glad to get the Supersport thing - it gives you more riding time, keeps you more on track during the weekends instead of having so much free time and doing nothing." Another thing that seems to have helped propel Yates to the top rung of AMA racing in only a few short years is hi s mechanical background. Prior to beginning the serious phase of his racing career, Yates worked as a mechanic in a m oto r cycle sh op a n d al s o t ook classes at a Jocal trade school. Success on the race tr ack led to more time being spent on h is own motorcycles th an on those of his customers - so mething had to give. "1 had to qu it th e m ot or cycl e sh op because I'd work all day on motorcycles and then have to come home and work on m y race bike," Yates explained. 1 was ju st getting totally burned out. 1 believe it (his mechanical background) helps. 1 know how a Jot of the stuff works. I've learned a Jot throughout the yea rs, and you learn more every time you ride the thing. Having a mechanical background and working on th e stuff, being able to do it yourself and prepare you r race bike - it all makes it that much better beca use yo u' re wor kin g on your bike ." Oka y, so h e ' s a good m ech an ic, a qu ick learner and. obv ious ly a hell of a talent, but did he really expect to come out and qualify on the second row in his first Daytona 200, in his first weekend as factorv racer? "I didn't really expect to go as well as 1 have in the Superbike class this weekend," Yates admitted. "Pas cal (Picotte) went really good in the tests , and he got in the 50s (one minute, 50 seconds) and stuff. 1 was up around 52, but it wa s pretty hard for me. Even the first couple of days (during Motorcycle Week) 1 was doing 54s. In qualifying. 1 started knock ing off 51s - 1 was like, 'Dan g.' I just started going a little faster everywhere, just knowing it was qualifying and 1 had to . go a little faster. 1 started going through the corners a little different, instead of trying to carry so much cornering speed like 1 do on m y Supersport bike. From what I've seen, tha t's what everyone else does. It's just trying to get the bike up on the bigger part of the tire for better bite. "A lot of it was jus t getting to where I could go as fast through certain sections as the other guys. It was just seeing how fast they go through there and then seeing th at' s how fast 1 had to go, th a t' s how fast you can go . The su perbike is just SO d iffere nt. It's faster an d it hooks up better." Learning on th e job usually means mis ta kes. Errors a t this level usuall y result in crashes - high-sides, lowsi des ... Yates h a s ye t to crash his Yoshi mura Suzuki superbike - preseason testing and all. " I'm jus t trying not to, you know," Yates sa id. "The stuff I'm riding. 1 don' t really want to tea r it up." As for long-term goals, we ll, you' re looking at it. W hen you get h ere as qu ickly as Yates has, it's d ifficult to look an y furth er. At least for now . Wit h his one-year Suz uki con tract, Yates loo ks to d o on e th ing and one thi ng on ly rig h t now - w in. And it appears he will have at least an equal opportunity to do so in an outfit where there appear to be n o team orders - at least there wa sn't in the 750cc Supersport final at Daytona. "I 'm just enjoying it, going race by race and trying to do as good as 1 can at the races," he said. "That's my main thing. If 1 win the race, I win the race . It . doesn't matter to them (Suzuki) just as long as we're both up there, I guess. He (Picotte) may feel like he's got the seniority, but you know - bring it on . I'm going to ride as hard as I can." So just how do you get so good, so fast? And what do you have to go by, to measure yourself against? "You just do it, from experience," Yates explains. "1 guess you know from your lap times, or getting hooked up with someone, trying to ride with them. I've always been able to brake really deep in the turns, and that's one of my good points. And learning tracks. I just think it' s from th e m otocross b a ckground. I' ve been riding motorcycles for a long time - th at' s what I've al w ay s done." Wh at he hasn 't alway s done is cut his hair. As a privateer , a ponytail hung from the rear of Yates' helmet. As a factory rider, the hair is clean -cut, the face clean-shaven - except for his moustache. "I was kinda asked to get my hair cut, 1 guess, by Mr. Itch and Suzuki," Yates confesses. "It was all about having a factory ride. We talked about it, and they even suggested shaving the moustache. At first it was hard to do (cut his hair), but once 1 did, well, it was different and 1kind of liked it." So far, Suzuki also likes Yates. 0 Cover up that helmet hair with the new Cycle News "CN Baseball Hat." Available in three styles and color combinations, each hat features the new "CN" design embroidered on the front of the highquality felt top; and the arched "Cycle News" logo embroidered on the back over the adjustable headband. 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