With a keen eye for talent, Chuck Graves has done it again... meet the youngest member of the Graves Motorsports Yamaha Team, 16-year-old Tommy Aquino (pronounced “a-queen-no”). Freshly signed to the team, Tommy will compete aboard the Graves Motorsports prepared championship winning YZF-R6 in the AMA Daytona SportBike class for 2009.

Tommy began his racing career at the age of 4, racing motocross after receiving a PW Yamaha for his birthday. By the time he was 6 he was competing at the larger regional MX races and accomplishing his goal of top 10 finishes. At 10, Tommy began the transition to road racing by riding a Yamaha YSR50 while still competing in MX events.

In 2003 Tommy made the decision to concentrate on road racing since his father Tom was also a road racer. Later that year, he made his first international start at the World Mini Grand Prix in Valencia, Spain where he finished 7th in a field of 50 International riders.

In the 2004 and 2005 seasons, Tommy raced with the CMRRA, the SOCAL Mini GP Club and the WERA West where he racked up many wins in the expert classes. He also competed in the AMA Supermoto Invitational where he finished fourth at the season-ending event in Las Vegas.

In 2006 Tommy continued to hone his skills when he finished 2nd in the West Coast USGPRU and 4th at the WERA Nationals after traveling to selected rounds of the series. Now working with Chuck Graves, he focused on the 2007 WERA National Challenge where he won the 600 Expert Superbike Class and finished 2nd in the 600 Expert Superstock as well as winning both championships for those classes in the WERA West.

Anxiously awaiting the start of his professional career, Tommy obtained his AMA license and made his AMA pro debut at Miller Motorsports Park at the age of 16 years and 2 days. He finished a very credible 7th place in the ultra-competitive Supersport class and continued the rest of the AMA Supersport season with top ten finishes, paving the way for his AMA Rookie of the Year award and his place on the Graves/Yamaha team.