Gagne’s Hot Streak at The Ridge Continues
Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne makes championship gains with fifth-consecutive victory at the Ridge Motorsports Park / Jun 24, 2023 /
Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne returned to the top step of the podium with his fifth-consecutive MotoAmerica Superbike win at the Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Washington. It also marked his fourth win of the season and 33rd-career victory in the class, expanding the reigning champ’s lead to 28 points in the hotly contested premier class championship. His teammate Cameron Petersen was running a great pace but unfortunately crashed out of the race while battling up front.
Gagne got the weekend off to a great start and topped the timesheets in both sessions on Friday. Although he was shy of the pole position in today’s final qualifying session, he got a great start from the number-two spot on the grid and quickly claimed the lead. The defending champ was putting in some fast times, including the fastest lap of the race with a 1:40.195 on Lap 5, and started to build a little gap up front but was unable to break away. Gagne continued to run his own race up front even as his championship rival slowly reeled him back in and went on to score his fourth victory of the season in the shortened red-flagged race. In addition to expanding his lead in the championship, the victory added to his personal win streak and maintained Yamaha’s perfect score in the Superbike class at the Washington State 2.5-mile track.
Although Petersen had a rough start to the weekend with some food poisoning the night before round four of the championship, he rebounded with a solid qualifying effort in fourth. From there, he got a great start into third and advanced to the runner-up spot on the second lap. The South African was on the heels of his teammate and putting in some fast times, but unfortunately tucked the front on Lap 5 and ultimately withdrew from the race
The Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team looks to keep the R1’s win streak rolling in tomorrow’s MotoAmerica Superbike Race 2 at the Ridge Motorsports Park.
Richard Stanboli – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager“Our Yamaha R1 once again proved to be the rage at The Ridge. Even though Jake did not start from pole, we knew that we had the pace for the race. He did a great job and had the grunt to win from the front. We are looking forward to tomorrow, and our goal will be a Yamaha 1-2-3.”
Jake Gagne – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing“I got off to a great start and was able to get some clean laps out front with Cam (Petersen) on my tail. I had a small lead for a bit, but it was getting close towards the end, with (Cam) Beaubier closing in. I was bummed to see him go down and the red flag come out. It will be another fight tomorrow, and we are looking to improve some things for Race 2.”
Cameron Petersen – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing“It’s been a tough start to the weekend. I’ve been dealing with a bit of food poisoning, but we rallied back and had a good qualifying. We got a great start and got into second, and I was reeling Jake in and then, unfortunately, went down. It’s really disappointing because we had the pace to be up front, but we’re going to focus ahead on tomorrow and come back stronger.”
2023 MotoAmerica Superbike The Ridge Resultshttp://www.motoamericaregistration.com/2016-results/
About Yamaha Motor Corporation, USAYamaha Motor Corporation, USA (YMUS), is a recognized leader in the outdoor recreation industry. The company`s ever-expanding product offerings include Motorcycles and Scooters, ATV and Side-by-Side vehicles, Snowmobiles, WaveRunner Personal Watercraft, Boats, Outboard Motors, Outdoor Power Equipment, Power Assist Bicycles, Golf Cars, Power Assist Wheelchair Systems, Surface Mount Technology (SMT) and Robotic Machines, Unmanned Helicopters, Accessories, Apparel, Yamalube products, and much more. YMUS products are sold through a nationwide network of distributors and dealers in the United States.
YMUS has a corporate office in California, two corporate offices in Georgia, facilities in Wisconsin and Alabama, and factory operations in Tennessee and Georgia. Additional U.S.- based subsidiaries include Yamaha Marine Systems Company (YMSC) with divisions Bennett Marine (Florida), Kracor Systems (Wisconsin) and Siren Marine, Inc. (Rhode Island), Skeeter Boats (Texas), with division G3 Boats (Missouri), and Yamaha Precision Propeller (Indiana).
