Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne scored his sixth-straight MotoAmerica Superbike victory today in a hot race one at The Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Washington. Teammate Josh Herrin joined him on the podium with a solid second-place finish.
Gagne continues to rack up the track records, adding The Ridge Motorsports Park to the list of the other three venues this season and maintaining his perfect qualifying record. He then grabbed the holeshot from pole position and set a blistering pace to gap the field by two seconds after the first lap. The Colorado rider upped the ante with the fastest lap of the race on Lap 7 after Herrin set the benchmark and ultimately crossed the line four seconds ahead of his teammate. Gagne’s sixth superbike win of the season expanded his championship lead to 32 points.
Herrin got a decent start from the second row of the grid in fourth, but it was a hectic first lap. He quickly made his way to second, but as the two riders behind him jockeyed for the runner-up position, he was pushed wide and shuffled back to fifth. The 2013 Superbike Champion fought back and advanced to third on the following lap and kept pushing, moving into second on Lap 3. He put the hammer down and was able to put some distance between himself and the competition, but after the halfway mark, he was back on his heels. Herrin held him off and ultimately was able to build another gap for a solid second-place finish.
The Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team returns tomorrow for more action at The Ridge Motorsports Park, lining up 1-2 on the grid for race two.
Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“It was a good day for the team, finishing 1-2. Jake, as usual, maintained the pace from the front, and Josh made some big improvements and found his rhythm to finish second. He may be keeping Jake honest starting in P2 tomorrow. The high heat conditions were tough for the riders, but our R1s loved it. They ran great, handled well, and maintained good grip, allowing both riders to run good consistent laps. We are excited and looking forward to tomorrow’s race.”
Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“We had a great race and got off to the start we needed. I’m so happy with the R1 and the whole crew. Tomorrow will be another hot one, but I’m confident that we can make some changes and pick up the pace tomorrow. It’s great to go 1-2 for the team, and Josh was putting in some fast laps, so I know they will be coming for me tomorrow.”
Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“I’m so pumped about our results today! I’m finally starting to ride like I was in 2018, and I’m so happy. I started working with Josh Hayes, and he’s taught me a lot this weekend. I finally believe that I can be there. The team is working super hard, so I have to thank them, and hats off to Jake for running a solid race. Hopefully, tomorrow we can get up there after the start with Jake and try and hang on. He’s running fast, but I think we have the pace. I can’t wait to get back on track tomorrow.”
