Former MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 Champion Jake Gagne has agreed to race a BMW S1000RR for Scheibe Racing in the 2019 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
The news was confirmed today by Team Owner/Crew Chief Steve Scheibe.
“I turned in my entry form to MotoAmerica earlier this week, and I wanted you guys to know,” Scheibe told Roadracingworld.com Friday morning. “For me, my program always comes together late. It’s only been in the last two weeks it finally accelerated. As hard as I try to have it done in the fall, before the year end, I just can’t. It just never happens.”
Scheibe said one of the things that slowed down the process was trying to determine if he would continue racing his existing BMW S1000RR Superbike or if he would be using the new BMW S1000RR, which will not be available until the middle of 2019 but is still homologated by FIM for racing in 2019.
Considering the new BMW S1000RR is essentially an all-new motorcycle, racing it would be a much more expensive endeavor that would require additional sponsorship.
Scheibe said he plans to announce his sponsors at a later date, as he is currently putting the finishing touches on one of his larger deals.
(Above) Jake Gagne (45) in action in 2018 on the Red Bull Honda World Superbike.
“I’m really excited,” said Gagne, who spent the 2018 season racing for the Red Bull Honda factory World Superbike team. “It will be cool to be back in the MotoAmerica paddock, obviously. It seems like Steve has a really good program going. I’ve seen over the last couple of years how they’ve kept improving and growing. This last year with Danny [Eslick] I was impressed with how fast they were going. Steve’s a great guy, and I’m looking to get to know him better and getting back to racing in the States.”
One complication, however, is that Gagne is currently recovering from a broken right leg he suffered while riding a motocross bike in the desert on New Year’s Day.
“It was a weird deal,” said Gagne. “I didn’t even crash. I came up short on this little jump. It wasn’t even hard, but I guess my ankle and foot were in a weird spot. I broke the tib/fib [tibia and fibula]. They call it a ‘pylon’ fracture.
“I had surgery three weeks ago to put in some plates and screws. I’m still in a cast and in a boot. I can’t put any weight on it for a couple of more weeks, so that’s a bummer. I’m just waiting it out. I go back to the doctor in a couple of weeks and I’ll know more then. I’ve been taking care of it really well, so it shouldn’t be much of an issue.”