PJ Jacobsen broke through to take his career-first MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike race win in Race Two Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota.
Jacobsen passed two-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne on lap nine of 18 and held on to win by 0.322 second on his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Gagne said he pushed his Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1 hard all the way to the end but the best he could do was second, which was enough to add to his Championship point lead significantly.
After a string of bad luck in 2023 that continued with a DNF in Race One, Mathew Scholtz was happy to bring his Westby Racing Yamaha home in third.
Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha’s Bobby Fong was running Scholtz down at a rapid pace in the closing laps but came up 0.1 second short of passing him before the finish. After the race, Fong received a 1.3-second penalty for cutting the chicane, but it didn’t affect his finishing position – fourth.
Brandon Paasch turned a great start into an impressive fifth-place finish on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R.
Championship contenders Josh Herrin and Cameron Beaubier did not score any points in Race Two. Herrin retired from Race Two with technical problems on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati, and Beaubier did not start the race due to a concussion he suffered in a crash during Race One.
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Jacobsen Wins The First MotoAmerica Superbike Race Of His Career At Brainerd
PJ Jacobsen Nabs His First Superbike Victory In A Straight Fight Over Jake Gagne In Minnesota
BRAINERD, MN (July 30, 2023) – With a near-perfect performance on Sunday afternoon at Brainerd International Raceway, PJ Jacobsen is no longer the fastest rider in the MotoAmerica paddock to not win a Medallia Superbike race after he added his name to the list of men who have won the premier class in the championship.
With three second-place finishes so far this season and a runner-up finish once in 2022, Jacobsen’s win turned him from bridesmaid to bride and he did it the right way, by besting two-time and defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne in a straight fight. The win also allowed him to step out of the shadow of his five-time Superbike Champion teammate, Cameron Beaubier – the winner of five races thus far in his first season with the Tytlers Cycle Racing team.
After trailing Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha’s Jake Gagne for all of race one on Saturday, Jacobsen was again behind the championship points leader in race two. Until there were nine laps to go. At that point, Jacobsen made his move on Gagne in turn three, got the job done and even put a bit of a cushion between himself and Gagne. Although Gagne put in a late-race charge, Jacobsen was able to withstand the pressure to take that elusive first win by .322 of a second.
Behind those two, Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz was also feeling pressure from behind as Bobby Fong was having the ride of his year on the Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1 and was giving the South African all he could handle in the final laps. Scholtz crossed the line in third with Fong giving up the chase in the final few turns.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch continues to impress in just his second weekend on the GSX-R1000R with another fifth-place finish. Sixth place went to Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim by a tick over Paasch’s Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate Richie Escalante, who struggled with front-tire woes.
Josh Hayes was up to fourth when an off-track excursion knocked him back to 11th. The four-time AMA Superbike Champion, riding the injured Cameron Petersen’s Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing YZF-R1, charged back through to end up eighth.
Aftercare Scheibe Racing’s Ashton Yates was ninth with Thrashed Bike Racing’s Max Flinders rounding out the top 10.
With Beaubier being ruled out of racing on Sunday due to the concussion he suffered in Saturday’s crash, and Josh Herrin’s Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R suffering a mechanical problem that knocked him out of third place, Gagne’s lead in the championship swelled to 68 points over Herrin, 262-194. Beaubier drops to third, 79 points behind Gagne. With his 2-1 weekend tally, Jacobsen jumps past Escalante and into fourth in the title chase, 100 points behind the championship leader.
Superbike Race 2
- PJ Jacobsen (BMW)
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
- Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
- Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
- Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
- Hayden Gillim (Suzuki)
- Richie Escalante (Suzuki)
- Josh Hayes (Yamaha)
- Ashton Yates (BMW)
- Max Flinders (Yamaha)
Superbike Quotes
PJ Jacobsen – Winner
“It’s just been hard work. Last year being able to even be on the podium was awesome and getting there. Then building steps this year and stuff, and with Cam (Beaubier) coming on as my teammate it was obviously a huge push because he’s a five-time AMA Superbike Champion. When he’s out there winning every weekend, first or second, it’s hard to have that as a teammate. I think just building and building and then learning some stuff from him as well in the data and everything. I knew I would eventually get there. I think I’ve always just been close in the wet races. I don’t really consider that a win, for me anyway. It’s good to finally get a dry win and actually get the job done. It feels pretty good. It was a big moment for me out there. I’ve wanted to do this. When you’re a kid coming up racing, and you’re in the paddock running around there, watching all these guys and then you want to be up here eventually with a win, like Hayes, Zemke, Duhamel, all those guys. So, it’s cool to be up here and to finally get a win in MotoAmerica.”
Jake Gagne – Second Place
“I was just on the edge. I was really pushing, trying to keep with PJ (Jacobsen). Right when he passed me that first lap, two laps, he was just putting tenths on me. I kind of calmed down and figured out a couple little things where he was quicker and tried to ride the bike a little different, be a little smoother, keep it from spinning up quite as much. Then that last lap, we came up on that lapper and I was wondering if I was going to get lucky and see what happened. But it was really fun racing with PJ. The guy has got so much talent. It’s good for him to get his first win. I enjoy being on that side, chasing him down for the win. It was kind of the opposite yesterday where he kind of just got back to my rear tire at the end there and I kind of did the same thing today. It was good. It really sucked to see (Cameron) Beaubier go out with that crash yesterday. I think something happened to (Josh) Herrin today. Good day for points, but more importantly just some good racing today with PJ. Good, clean racing. I didn’t know who was behind me, but we were just kind of inching away there. Everybody was really close this weekend. It was just those first couple laps, like always. I was able to push the pace a little bit. I knew PJ would be there the whole time. Just tried to be smart. Good day. Fun racing with PJ and watching him sideways around the whole track.”
Mathew Scholtz – Third Place
“This season has been pretty sh*t so far, to be honest. So, this is awesome to be back up on the podium here. Yesterday obviously passed PJ in the third corner early on. Ruined the bike. Didn’t get out from that. So, during practice, we didn’t put more than six or seven laps on the tire. So, we went out there today changing gearing settings without really knowing what was going to happen. The first three or four laps I think Jake (Gagne) and PJ (Jacobsen) had a little bit of pace, but maybe it was from lap five onwards I kind of pulled them back slightly. Then I think from the halfway point, the bike just started backing in like crazy. I started losing grip as I would crack the gas. So, the last couple laps was just surviving for me, really. Obviously, in Laguna I had a massive crash. Hadn’t been able to really train coming up to this and I’ve been sitting on the couch. Maybe did two or three cycles just to try to keep my fitness, but I definitely noticed that it hurt me today. My arms were pumping up. Overall, these guys are riding well. Just to kind of finish in the top five now is something special. There’re crazy fast guys. There’s Beemers, Ducatis, Yamahas, Suzukis are now up there too. So just to be up there makes me feel good, considering how bad things have been. So, I think if we can just build on from here. Pittsburgh has been one of my favorite tracks. I’ve been strong there previously, so I’m really thinking we can challenge for the win there. The bike is working better than it has been. We made a couple changes. I think today’s race we can really look at data and carry on pushing forward.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
Ducati’s Josh Herrin and Xavi Forés Remain Strong in Point Standings
Sunnyvale, Calif., July 30, 2023 — The Warhorse HSBK Ducati NYC duo of Josh Herrin and Xavi Forés had a few setbacks during round six of the 2023 MotoAmerica Championship at Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) in Minnesota. Herrin achieved another Superbike podium during race one Saturday but suffered a DNF in Sunday’s race two due to mechanical issues. As for Forés, he settled for seventh in race one of the Supersport Championship and fourth in race two.
Herrin aboard the Panigale V4 R during Friday’s qualifying hoped to earn a front-row start for race one. He settled for a seventh-place qualifying position but was able to get up front quickly and continue his podium streak. Herrin finished Saturday’s race one in third, 3.49 seconds behind Yamaha’s Jake Gagne.
During Race 2 Sunday, Herrin started strongly, running at a pace consistent with the leaders. He was in third until he suffered a mechanic issue on lap 8 of 18, forcing a DNF. Although he didn’t finish, he remains second in the championship points race with 194 points, 68 behind Gagne.
After an eight-race winning streak in the Supersport class, the Spaniard Forés struggled at BIR—a track he had never ridden before this weekend. After qualifying fifth aboard his Panigale V2, Forés kept his focus strong among the quicker bikes, finishing seventh, 21.730 seconds behind winner Josh Hayes (Yamaha).
In race two, which was shortened to five laps due to a restart after a horrific crash between Andrew Forsythe (Yamaha) and Justen Behmer (Suzuki), Forés quickly got into third. But he ran wide on the penultimate lap when attempting to pass Kawasaki’s Stefano Mesa. Forés finished fourth, 5.381 seconds behind winner Tyler Scott (Suzuki). With three rounds remaining, Forés continues to lead the Supersport Championship with 272 points, 84 ahead of BIR race-one winner Joshua Hayes (Yamaha).
2023 MotoAmerica Superbike Standings After Round Six
P1 – Jake Gagne (Yamaha) 262
P2 – Josh Herrin (Ducati) 194
P3 – Cameron Beaubier (BMW) 183
P4 – PJ Jacobsen (BMW) 162
P5 – Richie Escalante (Suzuki) 147
2023 MotoAmerica Supersport Standings After Round Four
P1 – Xavi Forés (Ducati) 272
P2 – Josh Hayes (Yamaha) 188
P3 – Tyler Scott (Suzuki) 185
P3 – Stefano Mesa (Kawasaki) 172
P5 – Teagg Hobbs (Suzuki) 118
Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC – #2)
“Obviously I’m bummed with today’s result (race 2). I felt that we had the bike to win for sure. We were able to catch up to the leaders, and I had all the confidence in the world to pass them at the end of the race and get a win. But we suffered an unfortunate mechanic issue that made it impossible to finish the race. I took a big blow in the championship points but won’t give up. I have a test coming up at COTA (Circuit of the Americas), and I’ll do some further training between these rounds and show up ready for Pittsburg next month.”
Xavi Forés (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC – #12)
“ It was a challenging weekend for me. We had a lot of work to do on the bike, and the results don’t exactly show how much work was put into the V2. At least on today’s race, I minimized the damages and got a good P4. It is hard to deal with when you have to ride against much faster bikes than yours. But no complaints here, and much was learned. We now look forward to Pittsburgh, hoping to return to our winning way.”
The 2023 MotoAmerica Championship now heads to Pennsylvania’s Pittsburgh International Race Complex for round seven of nine August 18-20.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Gagne Doubles Down with Runner-Up Finish at Brainerd
Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne takes a runner-up finish in Race 2 to double his points lead in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
MARIETTA, Ga. – July 30, 2023 – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne completed a successful weekend at the Brainerd International Raceway with a runner-up finish in today’s MotoAmerica Superbike Race 2. The return to the podium after yesterday’s victory has the defending champion leaving the sixth round of the championship with an additional 34 points, doubling his lead in the premier-class title fight. Fill-in rider Josh Hayes showed podium pace but ultimately salvaged an eighth-place finish in the tricky conditions.
Once again, riders were met with greasy track conditions at the 2.5-mile track in Brainerd, Minnesota, making for a challenging 18-lap race. Gagne got another great start from the front row and grabbed the holeshot. He threw down some fast times and was holding down the lead but was passed around the halfway mark. The reigning champ continued to ride a smart race and kept the leader in sight in the tricky conditions. He closed the gap and, on the final lap, made an attempt to pass but ultimately came .322 of a second shy of the win. His eighth-consecutive podium and 12th this season helped bolster his title defense, giving him a 68-point lead with seven races remaining.
After battling for the win in the 16-lap Supersport race, Hayes went from the podium to the Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing tent for his second race with the team as a fill-in rider for the injured Cameron Petersen. He had another solid start from the third row of the grid in eighth and advanced to fifth on Lap 4 but went off track and rejoined in 11th. Undeterred, the four-time superbike champ put his head down and threw down some consistently fast times to make his way back to sixth. In the final laps, he unfortunately went off track again in the challenging conditions and crossed the line eighth.
The Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing team returns to action in a few weeks for Round 7 of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex (PIRC) in Wampum, Pennsylvania, on August 18-20.
Richard Stanboli – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“The weekend went almost as planned, and we came up just shy of a double win. Overall it was a success. Jake extended his championship lead and now has a pretty comfortable cushion. It was also good to have Josh back on board. His feedback, great speed, and professionalism were a plus for the team. We thank him for his efforts and wish him success at PIRC with his Supersport effort. We look forward to our COTA test and then the next round at PIRC, which is a track that is typically good for our Yamaha R1s.”
Jake Gagne – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing
“Race 2 was another good start, and I got to lead the first half of the race. PJ (Jacobsen) passed me, and I was able to stay there with him, but I couldn’t make a pass back. All in all, it was a great weekend and great for the points!”
Josh Hayes – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing
“I really had a fun and successful weekend, I feel, even though the Superbike results didn’t showcase our potential. I did my very best to represent the team and Yamaha at my highest level, showed great speed, and hopefully passed along valuable feedback for the team’s future. Thanks to all of them for making me feel like family, and to Squid Hunter Racing for letting me take on another challenge!”
About Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA
Yamaha 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)
