Gagne Expands Championship Lead with Race 1 Victory at NJMP
Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne took top honors in MotoAmerica Superbike Race 1 at the New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) in Millville, New Jersey. The reigning champion’s 11th victory this season expanded his lead in the title chase to 13 points. His teammate Cameron Petersen finished second to give the team another stellar 1-2 finish.
Gagne got a great start from the third spot on the grid and slotted into second behind Petersen. He quickly moved into the lead and started to build a gap on the competition before the red flag was drawn. It was a complete restart with Gagne taking the holeshot this time. Around Lap 8, he started to build a comfortable gap and ultimately crossed the line with nearly a five-second lead over his teammate. The Coloradan’s victory was an important 12-point gain in the hotly contested championship fight giving him a 13-point lead with three races remaining.
Petersen also had a great day with a runner-up spot in qualifying and then backed that up with a holeshot in the opening race of the penultimate round. After being passed by his teammate on that first lap, he was holding down second before the red flag. Slotting behind Gagne after the restart, Petersen was once again riding strong in second and kept his teammate in sight for several laps with fellow Yamaha rider Mathew Scholtz right behind in third. Around the halfway mark, he was locked in battle with his countryman for the runner-up spot. They would exchange the position a few times with Petersen reclaiming it with five laps to go and holding him off to secure another 1-2 finish for the team.
The Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing team lines up again for MotoAmerica Superbike Race 2 at the New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey, on Sunday, September 11.
Richard Stanboli
Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“It is now the part of the season where we start thinking about the championship, and it’s great when things come together as planned. A 1-2 finish was our goal, and the riders and crew delivered. Last year we had Yamaha R1s sweep the podium in all three races, and our goal this year was to repeat that performance. We look forward to another great day of racing tomorrow.”
Richard Stanboli
Jake Gagne
Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing
“It was a great day for Yamaha to finish 1-2-3. We made great progress today, and the bikes were awesome. It looks like we might get some interesting weather tomorrow for Race 2, but we will try to repeat today’s success!”
Jake Gagne
Cameron Petersen
Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing
“I’m super stoked with my ride today. It’s not too often that plans go the way they should, but today seemed to be the exception! The team did an absolutely amazing job and gave us some weapons today. It’s never a
