This weekend’s results are brought to you by 6D Helmets.
Superbike Championship Point Standings (after 15 of 20 races):
- Gagne, 350 points
- Scholtz, 252
- Petersen, 193
- Fong, 178
- Baz, 160
- Herrin, 155
- Barbera, 124
- Jake Lewis, 90
- Kyle Wyman, 75
- Travis Wyman, 70
Superbike Cup Championship Point Standings (after 15 of 20 races):
- Jake Lewis, 295 points
- Wyman, 246
- Alexander, 234
- Gilbert, 161
- Lee, 134
- Danilo Lewis, 133
- Farris, 132
- Coffey, 87
- Dunham, 82
- Geoff May, 67
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Gagne Has One Hand On The 2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Title
Jake Gagne Needs Just Two Points To Take First Superbike Crown
MILLVILLE, NJ (September 11, 2021) – If Jake Gagne manages to get out of bed tomorrow and make it to the grid for the first of two HONOS Superbike races at New Jersey Motorsports Park, he will be crowned as the 2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Champion. Nuff said.
In HONOS Superbike race one on Saturday afternoon, Gagne and his Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha again made a mockery of the rest of the field as he led all 20 laps in winning his 14th straight race by 7.6 seconds. After 15 races, Gagne leads the championship point standings by a whopping 98 points. If he scores two points in race one on Sunday, he will start race two as the 2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Champion – his second MotoAmerica title to go with his 2015 Superstock 1000 title.
Only a brave man would bet against Gagne winning his 15th and 16th straight races tomorrow and the Californian doesn’t seem to be willing to let someone else win.
“I wish I could,” Gagne said. “I just have to do my job. This bike is this good. I’ve got to ride it as hard as I can every lap. We made some good improvements throughout the weekend, throughout yesterday and this morning, and so got a little bit more comfortable. We were happy with our race pace. We knew kind of what we could do. It was a little slicker even than I thought this afternoon. I’m sure with the heat it got into the track, got into the tires. It was a little slicker than I thought, for sure. But I’m happy. I got off to a good start. I saw Mat (Scholtz) coming around the outside of me in one right there. I know these guys are going to try to stick it up in there, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow. We’ve got two long races, so I’m sure it will be a battle. We’ll just keep clicking away at it. I’ve got nothing to do but ride the thing as hard as I can every lap, and whatever happens, happens.”
Second place on Saturday went to Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, the South African taking the runner-up spot for the fifth time on the season as he solidifies his stranglehold on second in the championship.
“Second place, I kind of have to be happy,” Scholtz said. “Obviously, we would like to win, but Jake (Gagne) is on form now. It’s kind of nice to be the next-best guy after the Attack Yamaha. At this point it’s pretty clear to see that they have the best package. So, it’s always good to be up there. I think Jake beat us by seven or eight seconds, which is a little bit far, so I’m just going to go back to the briefing room now and just try to figure out what we can do better. The first five or six laps I felt good. We did a 21.2, 21.3 and I felt comfortable. Then I got to lap five or six and I was just pushing the front and sliding out of almost every single right-hand corner, so got to try to figure out something how we can kind of hook up better. Obviously, if you’re going to do something, you’ve got to pass Jake early on because once he kind of settles into his own groove and he’s gone, he definitely has a better pace than everyone else. So, hopefully, tomorrow I’ll be able to get a decent jump and try to do something out of the first couple corners. For now, just got to be happy with this second place. I had a decent battle with Toni (Elias). It’s always good to see him back up here. Happy with the Yamaha sweep of the podium. Just a big shoutout to the Westby team. We’ve been working hard. We completely changed the motorcycle about four or five rounds back, and I feel like we’ve been making steady progress forward. So, I’ve just got to keep on working at it and just chip away a couple tenths, and we should be right there.”
Toni Elias had his third outing on the Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha and he put it on the podium for the second time, the Spaniard ending up third, some four seconds adrift of Scholtz and just .132 of a second ahead of M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong.
“This is the best bike and the best team,” Elias said. “We were a little bit limited at Pittsburgh. Maybe the track was a little bit better for me. This one is more difficult. They bring me something for the front that means I felt instantly much comfortable on the brakes. Let’s say, I come back to my riding style, to hard brakes and on braking areas. But I’m still missing rear contact, rear grip on entry, on exit. We are working so hard. We did small improvements, but I need something big. We are getting closer, because the possibilities of things were two things and we have no time, but every time we’re getting closer and closer, more close to the solution. That’s the goal. Today I had a really good start. I tried to follow him (Gagne) for six, seven laps. At the end, I couldn’t. Then Mathew (Scholtz) was having better pace than me. I decided to let him go and just he helped me to continue, and at the end I couldn’t either. I just was trying to not lose the rear too much. Also, Bobby (Fong) was faster than me, but I just closed the doors and pushed the last few laps and the last three corners and saved the podium. Thanks to the team, Attack Yamaha, to continue giving me opportunities. Tomorrow we have to work. I will keep pushing, working and let’s see what we can do.”
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York’s Loris Baz finished fifth and some 10 seconds behind Fong after topping the third Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha ridden by the returning Josh Herrin by just .051 of a second.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Cameron Petersen was seventh, well clear of One Cure Ducati’s Kyle Wyman who was less than a second ahead of Superbike Cup winner Jake Lewis and his Altus Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000. FLY Racing ADR Motorsports’ Bradley Ward rounded out the top 10.
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
Scholtz Notches 11th Superbike Podium And Fifth Runner-Up Result Of The Season
Millville, NJ – September 11, 2021 – On Saturday at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz not only finished on the Superbike podium for the 11th time in this year’s MotoAmerica Championship, his second-place result was the fifth time he has finished as runner-up this season.
And, while winning races is obviously the number-one objective of Mathew and the team, the consistency, which includes their current six-race podium streak, has given them a stone-cold lock on second place in the point standings, with a gap of nearly 60 points to the third-ranked rider with five races left in the season.
Starting from the middle of the front row, Mathew got a good jump off the line and tried to overtake Jake Gagne on the opening lap, but he ran out of room. After that, Toni Elias overtook Mathew, but Mathew had good pace and got past Toni as the race approached the halfway point. From there, Mathew maintained second place all the way to the checkered flag.
“Second place, I kind of have to be happy,” Mathew said. “Obviously, we would like to win, but Jake (Gagne) is on form now. It’s kind of nice to be the next-best guy after the Attack Yamaha. At this point it’s pretty clear to see that they have the best package. So, it’s always good to be up there. I think Jake beat us by seven or eight seconds, which is a little bit far, so we’re just going to go back to the briefing room now and try to figure out what we can do better. The first five or six laps, I felt good. We did a 21.2, 21.3, and I felt comfortable. Then, I got to lap five or six, and I was just pushing the front and sliding out of almost every single right-hand corner, so we’ve got to try to figure out how we can kind of hook up better. Obviously, if you’re going to do something, you’ve got to pass Jake early on because once he settles into his own groove and he’s gone, he definitely has a better pace than everyone else. So, hopefully, tomorrow I’ll be able to get a decent jump and try to do something out of the first couple corners. For now, just got to be happy with this second place. I had a decent battle with Toni. It’s always good to see him back up here. Happy with the Yamaha sweep of the podium. Just a big shout-out to the Westby Racing team. We’ve been working hard. We completely changed the motorcycle about four or five rounds back, and I feel like we’ve been making steady progress forward. So, we’ve just got to keep on working at it and just chip away a couple tenths, and we should be right there.”
Ed Sullivan, Westby Racing Crew Chief said, “Solid race for Mathew and our team today. Another strong second place. We have some changes ready for Sunday morning warm up, and I’m confident we will make the step needed to get Mathew up fighting with Jake.”
Chuck Giacchetto, Westby Racing Team Manager, added, “Today was the best day of our 2021 effort, in my opinion. I am so pleased and proud of our team. The guys found a very nice rhythm of late, and it’s all coming together. With regard to Mathew, he’s worked very hard to change not only his riding style but he has also found a much calmer approach to addressing his needs, which, in turn, gives Ed and the crew much more precise feedback.
“I know there is only a small mathematical chance to win the championship at this point, but I’m so ready to address the improvements that the team wants and needs because we still have room to improve. To be as close as we are and realize that there’s still room for improvement is very exciting as we look forward to the 2022 season.”
Sunday’s Superbike race two is at 11 a.m. ET, and Superbike race three is at 3 p.m. ET. Both races will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 2 (FS2), as well as streamed on MotoAmerica Live+.
For more updates about Westby Racing, including news, photos, and videos, visit http://www.WestbyRacing.com
Also, follow “Westby Racing” on your favorite social media sites.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Gagne Inches Closer to MotoAmerica Superbike Crown with 14th-Straight Win
Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne scored another dominant victory in today’s race one of the MotoAmerica Superbike tripleheader at the New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey. His impressive 14th-straight win moves him closer to his first title in the premier class. Toni Elias joined him on the podium in third. After two months away, Josh Herrin had a solid first race back, coming just shy of a top-five finish in sixth.
Gagne set the pace early, leading every session to maintain his perfect qualifying record this season. The Colorado rider got a great start from pole position and led every lap to take his 14th win of the season by a 7.6-second margin. With 100 points left on the table and five races remaining, Gagne’s 98-point lead in the championship puts him just two points away from clinching the title a week early.
Elias got a great start from the second row of the grid to third and quickly moved into the runner-up spot. He then found himself in a three-way battle for the podium and on Lap 7, he was passed by fellow Yamaha rider Mathew Scholtz. The Spaniard kept pushing but then had a moment after the halfway mark and lost some ground. With another rider on his heels, Elias kept cool under pressure and held off the competition to secure third for his second podium finish in three tries aboard the Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha R1.
After being sidelined from the previous two rounds with Covid-19, Herrin had a solid return to racing. Qualifying fifth, he started on the second row next to Elias and was fifth after the start. The Californian was able to close the gap to the riders ahead, but started to lose some time five laps in and found himself locked in an intense three-rider battle for fifth. Herrin exchanged positions a few times and fought all the way to the finish line, coming short of the top-five finish by just .051 of a second.
The Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team returns tomorrow for two more races to complete the MotoAmerica Superbike tripleheader at the championship’s penultimate round at the New Jersey Motorsports Park.
Richard Stanboli – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“Today was a fun day at NJMP. Jake rode a great race and won from the front. We told him not to worry about the championship and do what he has been doing, and everything else will fall into place.
“It was also good to have Toni on the bike. He has a wealth of knowledge in addition to being a great rider. It was good to see him race at the front and finish on the podium. He is really enjoying his time on the Yamaha R1.
“We also welcome Josh back after recovering from Covid, and he is quickly getting back up to speed. We will have a look at our data tonight and make some further improvements for tomorrow. It would be good to see all three riders on the podium, and we will work hard to give them that opportunity.”
Jake Gagne – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“It was another great day for the team. We had a productive practice, and we were able to understand how the bike was going to work over the race distance. I got off to another good start and just clicked off the laps until the end for another win. We’ve got two twenty-lap races tomorrow, which will be a lot, but I’m ready for it.”
Toni Elias – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“I’m very happy to be on the podium. This track is difficult, but we have made some improvements since Pittsburgh. I’ve been struggling a bit with rear grip, and this hurt me a little bit today. I had a really great start, and for seven or eight laps, I followed Jake and kept that one-second gap, but at the end, I started to slide and lost touch with him and then fought with Mat (Scholtz). I think we can make another step tomorrow. I want to say thank you again to the team for working so hard and bringing me back to the podium.”
Josh Herrin – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“I’m so happy to be back. It wasn’t the result we wanted, but being off the bike for two months made it hard. I was a little too far back and knew I wasn’t going to catch those guys once (Loris) Baz was there with me. We had a great battle; I think we probably had fifteen passes there at the end of the race. I’m sure that we’ve got a lot to look at when we get back to the truck. It’s been a long road climbing back to where we’re at right now, but we’re going to keep working as hard as we can to get back on the podium.”
