Gagne & Beach wrap up MotoAmerica season on top in New Jersey

2023 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
Round Nine – New Jersey Motorsports Park

Images by Brian J. Nelson

MotoAmerica Superbike One

Saturday’s MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike race was held in a rainstorm at New Jersey Motorsports Park, and it was a race that Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha’s Jake Gagne didn’t need to win. But he did.

The three-time MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Champion won his 11th race of the season and the 40th Superbike race of his career in horrible conditions at NJMP. He won by a tick over 16 seconds and in the same manner as the majority of his other 39 wins. He led off the line, led into turn one, gapped the field quickly and maintained his lead to the finish of the 16-lapper that was shortened due to the inclement weather.

Gagne’s victory came over his teammate-of-late, JD Beach. Beach, who is filling in for the injured Cameron Petersen, was in the top four throughout the race and took advantage of crashes, off-track excursions and a penalty given to Tytlers Cycle Racing’s PJ Jacobsen after the New Yorker made a pass on Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Josh Herrin under a waving yellow flag.

When the dust (or mud) had settled, Beach was second with Jacobsen being dropped to fourth with the penalty.

While the Tytlers Cycle Racing team saw their lead rider dropped from second to fourth, they also got to enjoy the polar opposite with Jacobsen’s teammate Corey Alexander earning the first MotoAmerica Superbike podium of his career. Alexander was steady and fast and ended up some four-seconds adrift of Beach and ahead of Jacobsen.

Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz was fifth on the track, but sixth in the official results after being penalized for punting Herrin off the track while passing the Ducati rider for fifth. Scholtz had already remounted after crashing out of third place in what was an eventful afternoon for the South African.

Seventh place went to Benjamin Smith Racing’s Benjamin Smith, who was 10 seconds clear of Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim.

Tom Woods Powersports’ Nolan Lamkin and Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Stefano Mesa rounded out the top 10.

Jake Gagne – P1

“A lot of little moments, for sure. It was sketchy. This morning we had that session and it felt really good, really solid, but just this little bit of extra rain we got before the race. I almost crashed in the first left-hander in turn 3B in the lead on the first lap. Just pushed the front. Then I kind of calmed down. I was so focused on just hitting my marks that I didn’t even look at the pit board for a while, and then I kind of saw that plus two. Congrats to JD and Corey (Alexander). These guys up on the podium, they deserve it. I could see both Corey and JD. There’s a section of the track like (turn) 10 where I could see them. The last half of the race, the last five laps, they were in the same spot every time. I was still pushing, so they had a good pace. I think everybody probably learned a lot today.”

JD Beach – P2

“When I’m with a guy out there it definitely helps because I think one thing for me, I like to be able to get my knee down but being so short, I’m stretching to try and do that. But when I got a guy in front of me, I kind of pick my eyes up a bit more and just roll through the turns better. It was definitely a hard race. This track in the rain is no joke. There’re so many slick spots. It’s weird because it will hold water in a few spots and then as the race goes on, it’s almost like the water gets pushed to a new spot. So, you’re kind of looking for the line all the time. You think it would start to dry out, but the water just gets pushed around. To get on the podium again as a fill-in rider is awesome. To be up here with Jake (Gagne) is great, and to see Corey (Alexander) get on the box is great too. I know he said that his titles might have asterisks on them, but on that day he’s racing against the best guys in that class. So, a title is a title. It doesn’t matter. To be on the box with two guys that have won titles in the last two seasons in great.”

Corey Alexander – P3

“I had no idea until I rolled in over here (that he’d finished third). I actually stopped to talk to James Rispoli really quick to give him some info about the track before his race. He was like, ‘I think you were third.’ I was like, ‘No, man, I was fourth. I was close, but I was fourth.’ Then they pulled me into the podium. Definitely a good surprise, for sure. I wasn’t expecting that one. I always seem to surprise myself in the rain somehow. Today more so than others. My first career win was in the rain, a long time ago now. I said to my mechanic before we rolled out and he was like, ‘This is going to be fun, huh?’ Like real sarcastic. I was like, ‘It’s all right. We’ve been here before.’ Usually in the rain somehow my riding style clicks with it. It takes me a little bit to get going, but once I get going, I get pretty comfortable. Felt really good towards the end. I knew I couldn’t catch JD (Beach) on those last couple laps. I was pushing and he was coming back to me. I wasn’t ready to take as big enough of a risk to really reel him in as I needed to. The tires were starting to get a little bit shot and I was losing the rear in a couple spots. I was very content with fourth place. That would have been a very good place for me to finish. I was happy enough with that. I was celebrating like it was a podium for fourth, and I would have celebrated a lot harder if I knew it was a podium. But it is what it is. Super happy to be up here. Like I said on the podium, anybody who has kind of been in my inner circle knows how hard these last few races have been for me. I haven’t been having much fun, honestly. So, to do this for my guys that are working so hard and just everybody that supports me personally, it’s nice to pay them back with something at least before the year is over.”

Superbike Race One Results

Superbike Race Two

JD Beach was the master of iffy track conditions on Sunday at New Jersey Motorsports Park with the Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing rider controlling the final race of the season from the sixth of 16 laps to score the second MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike victory of his career and his first in four years.

With a drying track throwing a bit of confusion into the mix prior to the start, Beach and the majority of the Medallia Superbike contingent went with Dunlop rain tires while two of them opted for slicks. As it turns out, rain tires were the right call and one that Beach and his team made just prior to the start of the race.

It was Tytlers Cycle Racing’s PJ Jacobsen who led the race for the first five laps before Beach made his move on the New Yorker. Once past, Beach steadily pulled away before slowing his pace to cross the finish line 5.4 seconds ahead of Jacobsen.

With Jacobsen finishing second, it was his teammate Corey Alexander who finished third for the second straight day. On Sunday, however, the Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW-mounted Alexander was third on the track and it didn’t take Jacobsen’s two-spot penalty to move him to the position as it did the day prior. Alexander was happy with his first podium but was happier with his second.

Three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne finished fourth, the Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha rider finishing off the podium for the first time all season in races that he finished. The Colorado resident had a DNF with a mechanical issue that was his only non-score in what was an 11-win season in which he scored 420 points.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch was fifth, three seconds behind Gagne and just .274 of a second ahead of his teammate Richie Escalante. Team Brazil’s Danilo Lewis had his best MotoAmerica Superbike finish in seventh with Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong eighth.

Aftercare Scheibe Racing’s Ashton Yates and Thrashed Bike Racing’s Max Flinders rounded out the top 10.

The final 2023 MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Championship point standings were led by Gagne’s 420 points with Herrin second and Jacobsen third. Scholtz ended up fourth, tied with Escalante. Sixth went to Cameron Beaubier with the five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion missing the final four races of the season with injury.

JD Beach – P1

“Honestly, PJ (Jacobsen) thought I was going to be fast, but out on the grid I was crapping my pants. I was scared. I’m like, ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen.’ When I went out for the warmup lap, as soon as I tipped it in, a few times the thing would slide. But the track didn’t look wet. So, I was nervous. Before the race started, I was going back and forth – slicks, rains, slicks, rains. Richard (Stanboli) came out on the grid. We talked about it. I was down to the last minute. I was like, only two guys went to slicks. Actually, (Josh) Herrin tried to trick me. I asked him if he switched and he said no, but I watched him do it. So, he’s not going to get no help anymore. So, then we just went with rains. PJ (Jacobsen) got a hell of a start. It was like a Jake (Gagne) start. The first lap, he was just gone. So, I was behind Jake (Gagne) and I was just like, I’m just going to match what he does. If he picks the bike up, I’m going to pick the bike up. So, I was just matching him, and I was making time on him, so I’m like, I guess I’ll just go by him. So, I went by Jake. PJ was out there, so I just put my head down and I started charging. I caught PJ and I tried to get by him as quick as I could. Just put my head down. I felt really good. I was just enjoying it. The bike was sliding around. I was spinning up. I just thought to myself, I wasn’t going to try to save the tire. I’d rather blow them off than have tires left at the end and not win. I just went for it. It feels really cool to get a win again after four years, and just getting on this bike for the last three rounds.”

PJ Jacobsen – P2

“Yeah, just like after yesterday and stuff like that I was still pretty pissed off, to be honest with you. It was hard to take that yesterday. Then I feel like I got a decent start and I just wanted to lead and try to run away with it and see what I could do. Honestly, I knew JD (Beach) before the start of the race would be pretty fast because we’re both dirt trackers, and it was like completely so sketchy out there when it’s half wet, half dry. Then also I was kind of nervous about the guys with the slicks because I was kind of shaking my head when we rolled up to start the race. I was just like, “I might just go backwards after five laps here.’ So, I don’t really know what’s going to happen. But once JD passed me, it was very hard to stay with him because I kept losing the rear going into all the corners with some lean angle. I just knew my tire was done. There was no going through water or anything saving me like that. So, it was kind of just riding the struggle bus through the rest of the race. I could see the gap behind me. So, I was managing that. Then I wasn’t pushing too much more to try to catch JD. It was just a big risk, because I was sideways a lot in the entry of the corners, and I don’t really want to crash like that. So, it was good to come back in second today. But I’m actually really happy for Corey (Alexander). That’s awesome that he got a podium today. He really deserved it. It’s really good. It’s awesome that we’re both up here for the last race of the season. He’s (Alexander) had a difficult season with a lot of things going on, so I’m pretty happy for him here at New Jersey Motorsports Park, his home race and my home race. So, it’s really cool to be sharing the podium with him. It’s good to get a podium at the end of the season here before it all ends before the winter.”

Corey Alexander – P3

“I guess so because I’m not happy with third. I feel like I’ve got a lot of pace left. But either way, just to be up here with these guys again. Passing Jake (Gagne) was pretty surreal. I thought, ‘he’s got to have some kind of plan. He must be saving his tire or something. He’s going to come back by me in a bit.’ And then we just had a huge gap. So, it was surreal during the race. For me, yesterday was obviously huge. It was amazing to get a podium, but just having PJ’s (Jacobsen) penalty and whatnot is not exactly how I’d want it to go down if I could dream up a podium. So, to be able to do it again and have him up here with me is amazing for our team and just for me confidence-wise to know that I actually went out and earned this one. Super excited. Super thankful for all the people that helped me to get here. It’s been a long road. Just hope to get to do it again next year.”

Superbike Race Two Results

MotoAmerica Superbike Standings

MotoAmerica Superbike Cup Standings

Supersport Race 1

The Supersport race-one podium at New Jersey Motorsports Park had a slightly different look on Saturday with a couple of different riders joining four-time Supersport race winner Tyler Scott on the podium.

Scott took the victory aboard his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki by just .206 of a second over runner-up place Anthony Mazziotto, who scored his second podium finish of the season aboard his North East Cycle Outlet Racing Yamaha.

Third place went to 16-year-old phenom Kayla Yaakov, who, in only the third Supersport race of her career, became the first female to reach the podium in a MotoAmerica Supersport race. She also recorded the fastest lap of the race during her spirited charge to the front of the pack aboard her Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki.

Tyler Scott

“In the early parts of the race, I was giving it good acceleration out there,” Scott said. “Then, a river formed right outside the corner, so you’d slip up once and then twice. That’s probably the trickiest spot on the track and the easiest to crash, even just pushing through there. You have to worry about your front end, as well.”

Supersport Race 1 Results

Supersport Race 2

The final Supersport race of the 2023 season gave Squid Hunter Racing Yamaha’s Josh Hayes another opportunity to extend his all-time AMA race wins record. And, on a wet-but-drying track, Hayes proved he’s still got it when he took the checkered flag by nearly six seconds over North East Cycle Outlet Racing Yamaha’s Anthony Mazziotto.

For Hayes, it was his 88th career win and, for Mazziotto, it was the New Jerseyan’s second podium of the weekend on his home track.

Disrupt Racing Suzuki’s Jake Lewis also had a good weekend in New Jersey, finishing third for his first podium result since filling in for injured rider Cory Ventura beginning with the Road America round in June.

Josh Hayes

“This morning, Mazz kind of made me feel a bit under pressure,” Hayes said. “He and I rode around together and even in Q2 when he had me to measure off of, he would go really fast. Then he’d get in front of me and a little mistake here or there. So, we were kind of playing back and forth a bit on pace and using each other to figure out where the track was good and not. So, I knew he was going to have some speed, but I know Tyler (Scott) races pretty well, even in these conditions, and he’s difficult to pass. So, every pass I had to make on Tyler (Scott), I kind of had to get in there late and almost push him a little bit wide. Always try to give him some racetrack to work with. I was kind of surprised. It seemed like it stayed plus zero for such a long time, and I finally saw some gaps starting to open up. I even backed it up. I knew that the track was getting better in a few areas, so I was pushing pretty good to just roll through a few areas with more confidence. Where it was bad, I was backing things down a lot, and I was still able to kind of maintain a pretty good gap and them not come back to me. So, I just kind of tried to stay steady and just thankful. It’s more relief than anything to get another race win in for the Squid Hunter team. Hopefully that’s motivating for the off-season for them to want to go racing some more.”

Supersport Race 2 Results

Supersport Standings

REV’IT Twins Cup Race One

The REV’IT! Twins Cup Championship will be decided on Sunday, the final day of the season, after the results of Saturday’s race one.

Defending class champion Blake Davis won the race in dominant fashion aboard his N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha, which gave him a one-point lead in the standings over Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia’s Gus Rodio, who finished third.

Coming home second in the race was Team Iso Yamaha’s Dominic Doyle, who notched his fourth podium result of the season and is fourth in the championship.

Blake Davis

“Yeah, I love the rain,” Davis said. “I like the rain a lot. Like Gus (Rodio), Q2 this morning was my first time on the twin in the rain. We had a whole season on it last year and just never got in the rain. Any bike I ride, I really love running in this kind of weather. I felt really comfortable. I’d love the weather to be the same tomorrow. I had a good race.”

REV’IT Twins Cup One Results

REV’IT Twins Cup Race Two

Going into Sunday’s final REV’IT! Twins Cup race of the season, just one point separated the top two contenders for the title.

Unfortunately, the showdown between defending class champion Blake Davis aboard his N2 Racing BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha and Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia rider Gus Rodio didn’t last long. Rodio lost control of his bike on the wet track and ended up out of the race.

As a result, Davis took the race win over second-place finisher Filippo Rovelli, who was The WagBar MP13 Racing Yamaha-mounted, and clinched the championship by 26 points over Rodio. Third place went to Team Iso Yamaha’s Dominic Doyle.

Blake Davis

“It was super crazy,” Davis said. “The track conditions were really, really tricky. Just the red flags to add all the tension into it. I hope everyone is okay from all the red flags. This really isn’t how I wanted to win it, but I kind of knew either me or Gus was going to go down. We both had to beat the other one, so we were both going to push and either win or crash.”

REV’IT Twins Cup Race Two Results

REV’IT Twins Cup Standings

Junior Cup Race One

Although his 21st birthday was on Friday, Team ECB/Barton Racing’s Eli Block waited until Saturday to truly celebrate his 21st birthday and he did so with a first career victory in the MotoAmerica Junior Cup series.

Block, who lives in Connecticut and races quite a bit at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, was the rain master as he stormed off to a 27.167 victory over Fernandez Racing’s Jayden Fernandez.

Fernandez, meanwhile, earned his second podium finish of the season by just .363 of a second ahead of MonkMoto’s Logan Monk, who landed on the podium for the first time in his career.

Eli Block

“I’ve been racing at Loudon since 2018, so either we have one or two rounds a year where we have rain and I’ve always loved it,” Block said. “I’ve always tried having a very smooth riding style where it’s really nice at Loudon because of how slick it is with all the paint strips. The Loudon Classic this year, I raced that.”

Junior Cup One Results

Junior Cup Race Two

It was a great weekend for Team ECB/Bartcon Racing Kawasaki’s Eli Block. The Connecticut rider won both Junior Cup races at New Jersey Motorsports Park in only his second MotoAmerica race weekend this season.

Block took the victory with a gap of 2.786 seconds back to Badie Racing Kawasaki’s Levi Badie, who overcame a last-lap battle with third-place finisher Yandel Medina aboard his Top Pro Motorsports Kawasaki and MonkMoto Kawasaki’s Logan Monk, who ended up fourth.

Eli Block

“Conditions were definitely a lot different today,” Block said. “I didn’t get the start I had yesterday, so I passed one at a time. I think I passed Rossi (Moor)… I forgot who else I passed. Probably Max (Van) and Hayden (Schultz). So, I got up there and then I set a cruise control pace. Then I looked at my pit board. I saw I had a little bit of a gap. Then I looked back, and I saw these two just charging. I amped up the pace. I started dropping I think I dropped about five seconds from that cruise control pace. These guys were pushing me like crazy. So, props to both of these guys. We were riding here a few weeks ago and they were pushing me, and they did the same thing this weekend. So, conditions were a lot different. I don’t know what these Twins Cup riders are going to do. It’s really hard for them, because most of the track is dry but there’s some patches out there that are really slick. So, you never know what they’re going to do. I’d like to thank everyone that helped me this weekend. This was an amazing weekend. Couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Junior Cup Race Two Results

Junior Cup Standings