Australian Champ Josh Waters Set to Fill In For Young

Brea, Calif. - June 28, 2010 - Rockstar Makita Suzuki has tapped defending Australian Superbike Champion Josh Waters to fill in for the injured Blake Young, who suffered a broken L-1 vertebrae during the Barber test earlier this month. Waters is slated to compete in the Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca rounds of AMA Pro American SuperBike Racing.

Waters was chosen to take the spot aboard the Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 due to his impressive racing resume and natural racing talent. The 23-year-old won the 2009 Australian Superbike Championship in his rookie year aboard the GSX-R1000 with five wins and podium finishes at every round, and he is currently defending that title. Waters is the first person to win the Australian title as a rookie since Mat Mladin managed that feat in 1992.

"Firstly, I would like to wish Blake a speedy recovery," Waters said from his home in Australia. "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!" Waters won't miss any of the Australian Superbike races during his American racing stint, and is looking forward to racing the AMA Pro series.

Young is expected to make a full recovery without surgery and is slated to return to racing for Virginia's VIR round in August.