Braeden Ortt inks MotoAmerica deal for 2019

Braeden Ortt is headed back to MotoAmerica for 2019, returning to the Supersport class aboard a Kawasaki ZX-6R, backed by Graves Kawasaki.

Ortt finished ninth in MotoAmerica Supersport last year, but if you remove the two outliers who blew the rest of the field away, especially JD Beach, he really did hold his own. Last season, he was on a Yamaha R6 for Tuned Racing, so riding for Team Green will be a change this year, but he says he’s already getting time in on the bike in west coast events, and says he’s excited. See more details about Ortt’s 2019 plans in the MotoAmerica presser below:

PRESS RELEASE:

ORTT LETS THE GOOD TIMES ROLL: WILL RACE A GRAVES KAWASAKI-BACKED ZX-6R IN MOTOAMERICA SUPERSPORT

Nineteen-year-old Braeden Ortt, who finished ninth in the 2018 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship aboard a Tuned Racing Yamaha YZF-R6, is going green for 2019. The Canadian rider, who hails from Calgary, Alberta, will ride the #30 Ortt Racing Graves Kawasaki ZX-6R in the 2019 Supersport Championship.

Ortt is currently studying in his freshman year at The University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Campus, and we caught up with him while he took a short break before going to his chemistry lab class at school.

“I’m really excited to be racing a Kawasaki this year,” Ortt commented. “Especially a Graves Kawasaki that’s equipped with top-quality Graves components, including, of course, a Graves exhaust system.”

To get ready for the upcoming MotoAmerica season, Ortt has been participating in AFM (American Federation of Motorcyclists) events, with a fully supported ride on the same Graves Kawasaki ZX-6R. He tested the bike at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in Buttonwillow, California, over the past weekend.

Ortt’s team consists of Graves crew, with crew chief Marco Bonesso, who worked with Tuned Racing this past year, and Jorge Artola, who was a member of JD Beach’s 2018 Supersport Championship-winning Monster Energy/Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha crew, along with riding coach Garrett Willis.

While Ortt races a Kawasaki in Supersport, he’ll share a canopy with defending MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Champion Andrew Lee, who will be aboard his #1 Franklin Armory Kawasaki ZX-10R.

“Although we’ll each be doing our own thing, I’m excited that Andrew and I will be teammates,” Ortt explained. “We’ll be sharing a canopy, with both of us aboard Graves-equipped Kawasaki’s. I’m really excited to start the season, and I love the feel of this new Kawasaki ZX-6R. I’m also really happy to have the support of Shoei and Cortech again this year.”