Waters Subs for Young in AMA ASB

Australian Superbike champion Josh Waters has been tapped to substitute for the injured Blake Young in American SuperBike. Waters will replace Young for two planned outings at Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca, while the American rider recuperates from a fractured L-1 vertebrae. Young sustained the injury via a high-side crash during a June 9th test at Barber Motorsports Park and is expected to return for Round 8 at the VIR circuit this August.

In a Suzuki press release announcing the move, Waters said: “Firstly, I would like to wish Blake a speedy recovery. When I got the call up, I was blown away that the team thought of me to fill in. I know it’s not going to be easy as the next two tracks are quite hard, but I know I have the best team behind me. I will try my hardest and I hope I can do a good job for Suzuki and our sponsors, and I also want to thank my Team Manager, Phil Tainton, for coming with me!”

The 23-year-old Waters sports an impressive resume, having claimed the 2009 Australian Superbike title in his rookie season. The accomplishment is a feat not replicated since 1992, when another Australian familiar to AMA racing fans did the same thing, one Mat Mladin.

Waters earned his ’09 title campaigning aboard the Suzuki GSX-R1000 and tallied five race wins, while never finishing off the podium steps. Competing in the two AMA events for the Yoshimura squad, Waters will not miss any rounds of the 2010 Australian series for his title defense.