On Thursday, Dec. 15, Yamaha inducted nine of its ATV, side-by-side, supercross/motocross and road racing titleholders to its Wall of Champions in a ceremony held at the Cypress, CA, office.
On top of the 11 championships acknowledged, the event-filled day included the presentation of a check to Feed the Children, a fond farewell to retiring Yamaha Vice President of Motorcycle Operations, Dennis McNeal, and recognition of Yamaha Racing Team Manager Tom Halverson’s 30 years of service.
Those who competed on four wheels that were honored included 2016 AMA Pro ATV Motocross champion Chad Wienen and 2016 GNCC XC1 ATV champion Walker Fowler. For the first time ever, two professional off-road side-by-side racers were inducted for championships they each won in the YXZ1000R’s debut racing year. Corry Weller received a Wall of Champions plaque for her TORC Series Pro Stock UTV championship and adding to his list of Yamaha championships, Dustin Nelson was inducted for his two Lucas Oil Regional Off-Road Series championships in both the Southern California and Arizona regions.
Motorcycle racers included 2016 MotoAmerica Superbike champion Cameron Beaubier, 2016 MotoAmerica Supersport champion Garrett Gerloff, 2016 MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 champion Josh Herrin, MotoAmerica Superstock 600 champion Bryce Prince, and Cooper Webb for winning both the 2016 AMA 250cc Supercross West championship and the AMA 250cc Motocross championship.
The induction ceremony videos can be viewed and shared by clicking the following links:
10th Annual Feed The Children Presentation
Yamaha presented world-renowned charity, Feed the Children, with a check for $56,155.50 as part of its 10th Annual Feed the Children presentation. Yamaha raises money for Feed the Children through employee donations, special dealer fundraising activities and direct corporate donations from Yamaha’s customer satisfaction team. The company’s unique Customer Satisfaction Survey program makes a donation for each survey returned by a Yamaha Motorsports customer. Over the past two decades, Yamaha helped raise more than $5 million in cash and supplies for Feed the Children, which is an international and nonprofit relief organization delivering food, medicine, clothing and other necessities to individuals, children and families who lack those essentials.
Retiring Yamaha Motor Corp., USA VP Dennis McNeal
Dennis McNeal, Vice President of Motorcycle Operations for Yamaha, is retiring after 38 years with the company. McNeal was given a warm sendoff, complete with a fitting tribute to his leadership, expert guidance and genuine friendship not only to Yamaha employees, but to thousands of powersports industry persons across the U.S. and around the world, as well.
