KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Two-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne won MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Race One Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Riding his Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1, Gagne won the 17-lap race by 3.698 seconds. The win, Gagne’s seventh of the season, extended his Championship point lead.
Five-time Champion Cameron Beaubier charged forward through the field on his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR to score second place.
Mathew Scholtz turned a strong start into a third-place finish, and his sixth podium finish of the season, on his Westby Racing Yamaha.
Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha rider Bobby Fong, the pole-sitter, crossed the finish line third, but he was demoted to fourth by a time penalty for cutting the chicane.
Beaubier’s teammate PJ Jacobsen placed fifth, a fraction of a second behind Fong on the timing screen.
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Gagne Wins His Seventh Of The Year At Pittsburgh International Race Complex
Defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Extends His Points Lead With Victory at Pitt Race
WAMPUM, PA (August 19, 2023) – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha’s Jake Gagne was up to his old tricks on Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. The two-time defending Medallia Superbike Champion started quickly, let the others hang around for a lap or two and then rode off into the distance for his seventh win of the year and the 36th Superbike victory of his career.
The win also extended his championship lead to 83 points heading into tomorrow’s two Medallia Superbike races in the MotoAmerica Superbikes At Pittsburgh, Presented By Steel Commander triple-header.
Gagne didn’t put a wheel wrong in earning his seventh win of the year. He had Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz on his back wheel for the opening laps, but then was able to pull away and let those behind him battle for second place as he managed his tires to the best of his ability.
Second ended up going to Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier, the five-time AMA Superbike Champion bouncing back from his big crash at Brainerd International Raceway a few weeks ago. Beaubier admitted that he was struggling with confidence after the race-one crash that forced him out of race two in Minnesota.
Beaubier started slowly in the race (after qualifying sixth) before eventually fighting his way through the pack to third. He then worked around Scholtz and kept him at bay to the finish. Beaubier was 3.6 seconds behind Gagne at the end of the 17-lap race and 1.8 seconds in front of third-placed Scholtz.
Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong ended up fourth in his best Superbike race of the year. Fong, riding David Anthony’s Yamaha YZF-R1, put in a solid ride after starting from his first career Superbike pole position. Fong saved what would have been a ferocious highside midway through the race, was later penalized for cutting the chicane, and still managed to narrowly beat Tytlers Cycle Racing’s PJ Jacobsen by .4 of a second with the penalty.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Josh Herrin was also penalized for a chicane violation and he barely beat JD Beach, who was riding the Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha in place of the injured Cameron Petersen, for sixth place.
Beach, in his first Superbike race since 2021, was seventh and some four seconds ahead of Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante. Escalante, in turn, bested his teammate Brandon Paasch by a tick over five seconds.
Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim rounded out the top 10.
Gagne now leads Herrin, 287-204, heading into tomorrow’s two races at Pitt Race with Beaubier just a point behind Herrin. Jacobsen is fourth in the title chase with 173 points, 18 more than fifth-placed Escalante.
Superbike Race One
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
- Cameron Beaubier (BMW)
- Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
- Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
- PJ Jacobsen (BMW)
- Josh Herrin (Ducati)
- JD Beach (Yamaha)
- Richie Escalante (Suzuki)
- Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
- Hayden Gillim (Suzuki)
Quotes
Jake Gagne – Winner
“Mat (Scholtz) got a great start. He kind of got the launch on me. I was expecting him to come up the inside in one. This turn one is kind of tricky. You don’t really know where to brake. It’s blind going in and you don’t want to blow it. I was plus zero on the pit board for a couple laps, or plus 0.2. Almost nothing. I could kind of hear, in the slow turns, that it sounded like a Yamaha. You can tell the difference with the way the thing sounds. Just with it being so much hotter than it had been all weekend, the track was pretty greasy the first couple laps. Then the tires dropped off a little bit more than I expected, just because of the heat. I think there was a lot of heat in the tires. Just tried to be consistent. Would have a second, two seconds, and at that point just tried to ride smooth. Even if those guys started reeling me in, I just wanted to kind of click off the laps that I could and if they came back, then that’s what happened. We made a lot of progress really with the bike from yesterday to today. Weird start yesterday. We only missed a couple laps in the first session, but still making some changes that we’ve kind of wanted to try and got a better feeling in a couple areas with the bike, so I’m pretty happy with that. But tomorrow is going to be hot, two races. I think it will be probably another 10 degrees hotter, so it will be an interesting tough couple races tomorrow, so just try to be smart and learn what we can overnight. It’ll tighten up tomorrow, I’m sure.”
Cameron Beaubier – Second Place
“You’re right. This weekend has just been kind of a slow start for me. Yesterday I wasn’t trusting the bike. I wasn’t trusting the TC. I wasn’t really throwing the thing around and riding the thing like I know how to ride. I just wasn’t riding like myself. The guys have gotten me a lot more comfortable on the bike though and just kind of rebuilding the confidence a little bit. To be honest, I’ve been doing this long enough now that I’m able to bounce back pretty quick after a crash, but that one rattled me a little bit. I felt better this morning, even though the times weren’t there. I was feeling more confident on the bike with my riding and stuff. We made a good step with the bike going into the race. I just kind of slowly worked myself into a rhythm. I was able to pick the guys off and put my head down. I had pretty good pace up until about seven to go. I thought I was going to be able to ride it home in second. Jake (Gagne) was gone. He was riding incredible. But then my gap on my pit board started coming down and coming down. I even looked over my shoulder to see who it was, and it was Matty (Scholtz) who was charging. I had to really give it a good push those last five laps to hold onto second comfortably. But we’ll definitely take this after the struggle we had yesterday and roll it into tomorrow. See how it goes.”
Mathew Scholtz – Third Place
“I think it’s one of those tracks that when you’re following somebody it’s pretty easy to kind of flow and find the corners a little bit better. Then once I lost tow on Jake (Gagne), I kind of struggled a little bit. I dropped down into the 44s quickly, which was surprising. I kind of thought I’d be able to stay in the low 43s. The track definitely seems to have lost a little bit of grip on the edge. Once Cameron Beaubier passed me, I looked back and I think there was (Bobby) Fong and Josh Herrin or PJ Jacobsen, one of them. I thought, I have to try to find something now or I’m going to finish fifth. So, I just managed to kind of start to flow slight better, pick-up speed through the middle of the corner and not worry about driving out really hard. Dropped the times to the mid-43s. Then the last lap I kind of knew Bobby Fong was there. I knew he was going to try to pass me somewhere. He passed me through the fast left coming up to the chicane. He didn’t set up wide for up, but I dived up the inside of him then and kind of pushed him over the extra bit of curb, so I knew that he would get penalized. Crossed the line fourth, but I kind of got pointed towards the parc fermé and ended up third. So, I’m pretty happy with that.”
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
Chalk Up Another Superbike Podium Finish For Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz At Pitt Race
Wampum, PA – August 19, 2023 – In Saturday’s MotoAmerica Superbike race one at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (Pitt Race), Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz added another podium finish to his impressive “resumé of results,” making it 7 podiums in the 13 races he’s competed in at the Western Pennsylvania racetrack.
Starting from the outside of the front row on the grid, Mathew got off to one of his best starts ever as a MotoAmerica Superbike rider. He was immediately in a battle for the lead with Jake Gagne. He maintained his position in second behind Gagne until lap 7 of the 17-lap race when Cameron Beaubier overtook him. Bobby Fong, who was in fourth place, hounded Mathew for the rest of the race, but Fong made a mistake in the chicane, and the resulting time penalty on Fong ensured Mathew of a third-place result when the checkered flag flew.
“Pitt Race is one of those tracks that, when you’re following somebody, it’s pretty easy to kind of flow and find the corners a little bit better,” Mathew said. “When I lost the tow on Jake (Gagne), I kind of struggled a little bit. I dropped down into the 44’s quickly, which was surprising. I kind of thought I’d be able to stay in the low 43’s. The track definitely seems to have lost a little bit of grip on the edge. Once Cameron Beaubier passed me, I looked back, and I think there was Fong and Josh Herrin or PJ Jacobsen…one of them. I thought, ‘I have to try to find something now or I’m going to finish fifth.’ So, I just managed to flow slightly better, pick up speed through the middle of the corners and not worry about driving out really hard. I dropped my lap times into the mid-43’s. Then, on the last lap, I knew Bobby Fong was there. I knew he was going to try to pass me somewhere. He passed me through the fast left coming up to the chicane. He didn’t set up wide, but I dived up the inside of him and kind of pushed him over the extra bit of curb, so I knew that he would get penalized. I crossed the finish line in fourth, but I ended up third. So, I’m pretty happy with that.”
Superbike race two is on Sunday at Noon ET, and the weekend-concluding Superbike race three will start at 3 p.m. ET. Both races will be shown live on MotoAmerica’s YouTube Channel.
For all the action from Pitt Race, as it happens, subscribe to MotoAmerica Live+, which is MotoAmerica’s live streaming and on-demand service.
Meet Mathew, Get An Autographed Poster, And More
Mathew will be available for autographs during the Dunlop Hot Pit Walk & Autograph Session, scheduled for 11 to 11:40 a.m. Sunday on pit lane at Pitt Race. He and the team will be handing out free posters and T-shirts, so don’t miss it.
Check Out The Westby Racing Sponsor Showcase
Eazi-Grip Racing Products Ltd. and MWR Racing Air Filters are the featured team sponsors on display in the Westby Racing paddock area this race weekend, so be sure to stop by to say hello and learn about some of the companies that support the team.
For more updates about Westby Racing, including news, photos, and videos, visit www.WestbyRacing.com
Also, follow “Westby Racing” on your favorite social media sites.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Gagne Fires First Shot with Superbike Race 1 Victory at PIRC
Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne continues to make championship gains with seventh MotoAmerica Superbike victory in 2023
MARIETTA, Ga. – August 19, 2023 – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne put on another masterclass performance in today’s opening race of the MotoAmerica Superbike tripleheader at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex. The defending champ led from start to finish to further extend his points lead with his seventh victory of the season. Making his return as a fill-in rider for the team was JD Beach, who navigated the tricky, greasy conditions in his first Superbike race in two years to finish seventh.
It was another trademark Gagne Superbike victory, with the reigning back-to-back champ grabbing the holeshot from the second spot on the front row of the grid. He then threw down some fast times to bring the heat on a hot day at the 2.78-mile track in Wampum, Pennsylvania, and built a comfortable gap up front. Gagne remained unchallenged in the 17-lap race, scoring his 36th-career Superbike victory and seventh of the season to expand his lead in the championship to 83 points.
With a weekend off from his full-time duties as an American Flat Track racer, Beach had a solid first race back since his last fill-in ride with the team at Brainerd International Raceway in 2021. Qualifying 10th, he had a good start from the fourth row of the grid into ninth and made his way to seventh around the halfway mark, where he would finish.
The Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team returns tomorrow for twice the MotoAmerica Superbike action with Race 2 and 3 of the weekend at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
Richard Stanboli – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“Another mission accomplished – a front-row sweep of Yamaha R1s as well as a decisive victory for Jake. JD also found a good rhythm in the race, and the result did not show his potential. We will work hard to repeat the winning performance on Sunday, as well as help JD get closer to the podium. It should be fun.”
Jake Gagne – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing
“It was a great Race 1 today. A good start always makes life easier. I put my head down and just kind of inched away from those guys. This was the hottest track that we’ve had so far this weekend. So it was a little greasier than expected, but the R1 loves this track. We made steady improvements all weekend, and we are looking to make more progress for tomorrow’s double header!”
JD Beach – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing
“My goal for Race 1 was just to get a good start and move forward from where I started. I wanted to stay calm and finish the race, to do every lap, see the checkered flag, and get my feet under me. We did that. Now I’m feeling really good for the next two races!”
