Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne came out on top in a thrilling battle to notch his ninth-consecutive MotoAmerica Superbike victory in today’s Race 2 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. His teammate Josh Herrin ended the weekend with another top-five finish at the iconic track in Monterey, California.
Gagne grabbed another holeshot from pole position, but he had a fight on his hands this time around. He made an uncharacteristic error on the second lap and went off track exiting Turn 5. With the lead group right behind, he came under attack and was passed by Loris Baz and Mathew Scholtz going into the Corkscrew. As the other two riders jostled for the lead, Gagne reclaimed it in Rainey Corner. Although he went unchallenged for the rest of the race, Baz stayed right on his heels. The Colorado rider kept his cool under pressure and went on to sweep the weekend. Gagne leaves his native state of California with his win streak intact and a 65-point lead in the championship.
Herrin was fifth at the start of Race 2, but he kept pushing and quickly moved into fourth in Turn 5. That gave him a front-row seat to the chaos on Lap 2 and eventually an open door. He first made the pass on Scholtz and then Baz to take the runner-up spot in the final turn. The Frenchman immediately countered, and Herrin tried to make the pass on the outside of Turn 2 but was pushed wide and shuffled back to fifth. He found himself under pressure as the race wore on and was passed with three laps to go. On the final lap, he reclaimed it to score his second top-five finish of the weekend.
The Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team heads to Brainerd, Minnesota, on July 30-August 1, as MotoAmerica makes a long-awaited return to Brainerd International Raceway for Round 6 of the championship.
Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“It was another good day for the team and the Yamaha R1. Hats off to the competition for making such a strong effort. It forced us to look deeper at our configuration and give our riders a better platform. Jake rode great for the win, controlling the race pace from the front as he has done in the last nine races. Josh showed good speed in the morning warmup, but unfortunately, it did not translate to a good race pace. In the end, he was able to finish fifth despite a few mistakes. We will go back to the shop and work harder so that we are ready for the fight at Brainerd.”
Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“That made for an exciting one! I made a little mistake and ran off into the dirt on the outside of Turn 5 and got passed by Baz and Scholtz up in the corkscrew. I saw them kind of run wide, and luckily, we made the pass stick to get back into the lead. I just put my head down after that. We managed to pull a small gap, but we had to work hard for that one. Thanks to the whole team for working so hard and giving me a good bike!”
Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“We were expecting a better weekend here at Laguna. I’m disappointed with the results, but I’m happy with the progress that we made on the bike. Tonight we will reset and be ready for Brainerd. Congrats to Jake and the team for a great weekend!”
