Photography By Brian J. Nelson
Tyler O�Hara powered his Chisum/Motul Racing Yamaha R1 to two second place finishes during this weekend�s MotoAmerica races at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA. O�Hara�s second and third podium finishes of the year moves him into second position behind Jake Gagne in the Superstock 1000cc class.
O�Hara started the Road Atlanta weekend off slowly and couldn�t find the right setup during the Friday practice sessions. However, the Chisum/Motul Racing rider seemed to find his groove during the Superpole qualifying as he held the pole position for a majority of the session. However, with seven minutes left in qualifying, the factory Superbike of Roger Hayden beat his time just as a red flag temporarily stopped the session. Once the track was cleared, the session restarted but O�Hara could not get up to speed in the five minutes remaining and fell back to fifth position overall (second in Superstock).
Riders had to deal with a wet track in both races on Saturday and it seems that the rider from Petaluma, CA has adjusted well to riding in poor conditions. O�Hara got a decent start in the first race of the day but got shuffled back in the pack in turn two after making a small mistake. He started making some moves and passed his way into second position behind Josh Day. By this time, Day had a good lead so O�Hara paced himself to earn his second podium of the year.
The second race of the day saw O�Hara get a better start with the lead group, but he had to slow quite a bit when a rider went down in front of him. His quick actions helped him avoid crashing but it also let a number of riders get around him. Once again, O�Hara found himself playing catch up with the leaders and set the fastest lap of the race as he powered his way to second at the finish line.
�We had good speed and we probably could have been at the top of the podium today,� said O�Hara. �The track conditions made things tough for all us out there, but I�m pretty happy with the two second place finishes. These few weekends off will allow us to work on the bike and get us on par with the other guys out here.�
The Chisum/Motul Racing Team will be competing at Virginia International Raceway for round 3 of the MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship on May 15-17, 2015. The team would like to thank Motul, Motion Pro, Sidi, Performance Friction Brake Pads, Core Moto, RS Taichi, Barnett Clutches, Moto Liberty, Arai, Troy Lee Designs, Yoshimura R&D, K-Tech and Orient Express.
