VOL. 55 ISSUE 14 APRIL 10, 2018 P105
track and getting this new journey
on its way."
Australian David Anthony, who
has been road racing in the U.S.
for a full 10 years, has stepped up
his commitment to MotoAmerica
for 2018 and will run an interest-
ing squad running two brands
of motorcycles. Anthony's team,
officially called "Fly Street Racing"
with Boise, Idaho-based Fly Rac-
ing as his title sponsor, will feature
Anthony himself aboard his familiar
#25 Kawasaki ZX-10R superbike,
along with Roi Holster piloting the
#26 Yamaha YZF-R1 superbike
and Sam Verderico also aboard a
Yamaha R1 superbike with his bike
carrying the #17.
SUPERSPORT
Many expected MotoAmerica
Supersport 2018 to be a two-way
fight between 2015 Supersport
Champion JD Beach and French-
man Valentin Debise but stepping
up big time in testing was Hayden
Gillim. The Rickdiculous Racing
Yamaha rider was the surprise of
the test in the Supersport class
as he topped Beach and his
Monster Energy/Y.E.S./Graves
Motorsports R6 by 0.508 of a
second in the final session to
steal the top spot. Gillim lapped
at 1:26.804 to Beach's 1:27.312.
"I was surprised with my
speed," Gillim admitted. "I knew
at some point that I would be
there with JD [Beach], but I wasn't
expecting it to be right off the bat.
I think that says a lot about the
whole Rickdiculous program."
Beach is still likely considered
the pre-season favorite by most
observers. He has traditionally
the strongest team in the class
behind him and has won a ton of
supersport races over the years.
"I'm glad we had this first test
because I have a whole new crew
this year and the format is a little
bit different now, especially with
me being the only rider on the
team," Beach said. "It was good to
be here to get some things sorted
out and see where we need to
improve. We're going in the right
direction and, come Road Atlanta,
I think we'll be good."
Debise hopes to be ready to
race come Road Atlanta after
his spectacular high-side crash
in the Daytona 200 last month.
The M4 Ecstar Suzuki rider was
diagnosed with a concussion
and compression fracture of the
third lumbar vertebra and he was
forced to miss the Barber pre-
season test. In spite of his injuries,
you can never count out Debise,
who has found ways to be a race
winner and series contender on
the underdog Suzuki GSX-R600.
"It's always good to stay with
the same team, especially one
where you feel great and have
a lot of confidence in the crew,"
Gillim stepped it
up in Supersport
pre-season
testing. He
looks to be a
threat for the
championship on
the Rickdiculous
Racing Yamaha.
