Larry Lawrence | December 26, 2021
Jake Gagne and Attack Performance rewrote the record books for MotoAmerica in 2021. It was truly a stunning season.
It seems the mountain life is agreeing with the 2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Champion… Gagne is a much more well-rounded rider this year and it showed.
By Larry Lawrence | Photography by Brian J Nelson, Jake Gagne
Life is good for Jake Gagne. The 28-year-old is settling into his new house in Durango, Colorado, he’s getting some old injuries fixed that have prevented him from training as hard has he’d like and, oh yeah, he’s coming off a season where he rewrote the MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike record books on his Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha R1 en-route to the 2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
If you step back for a moment and think about the landscape of MotoAmerica Superbike racing’s 2021 preseason, many prognosticators were predicting the arrival of Frenchman Loris Baz coming to America, on the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati, as a game changer. After all, Baz came to MotoAmerica with an impressive resume—a two-time race winner in World Superbike and three full seasons of MotoGP under his belt. He was signing with a proven squad who, in 2020, helped give Ducati its first MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike victory in 10 years.
And Gagne? Sure, he’d done an admirable job as teammate to 2020 champ Cameron Beaubier, and finished runner-up in the 2020 championship, but in four previous seasons of MotoAmerica Superbike racing, Gagne had exactly zero wins to his credit.
Some pegged him as champion in waiting for 2021 for sure, but there were a lot of question marks to whether Gagne could shoulder the pressure of being the lead rider on the most powerful team in the MotoAmerica paddock.
Gagne rates his Laguna Seca performance as the best of his season in a year of highlights.
While there may have been doubters, Gagne wasn’t one of them. Neither was Attack Performance owner Richard Stanboli. Gagne and Stanboli were both confident going into the season that the No. 32 was the rider to beat. Did they have any inkling that Gagne would take the series by storm, that he would not only set the MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike record for the most wins in a single season, and he would also shatter the winning-streak record? No.
Gagne’s 16-consecutive victories (17 total) easily eclipsed the previous record of 11-straight wins set jointly by four-time MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes and five-time champ Cameron Beaubier. And he did it with the help of two Canadians, one of whom was forced to work remotely during most the season.
We caught up with Gagne by phone from his Colorado home just a couple of days after he’d been testing new Dunlop tires at Buttonwillow Raceway and a few days before he was going into surgery to have hardware [plates and screws] removed from his right leg that was installed after a motocross crash in 2018.
How did the tire test go?
It was good. It was something Dunlop put together. They wanted to test some new compounds and new profiles. We tested maybe four or five new tires. It’s cool that Dunlop is still working so hard to give us better tires. I’m not sure what we’ll be racing next year, but think the tires we tested will be the direction they’re moving towards.
Jon “Corndog” Cornwell and Gagne chew the fat. The legendary suspension guru has been an integral part of Gagne’s success this year.
Coming into 2021, you were heir apparent after Cameron left for Moto2, yet you’d never won a Superbike race. What were your expectations coming into the season?
My realistic goal coming in was to win races and try to win the championship. I can definitely say I didn’t expect to win 16 races in a row and 17 out of the 20 rounds. That was pretty surreal. Even from last year I made a lot of improvements with my riding and some things with the bike. Our crew was working really well. I kind of had the feeling, even before the first race, that I’d be the consistent guy and I knew we would be battling for wins everywhere. But to end the season how we did it was amazing and showed how solid our crew, our communication, the bike and everything was. Just little tweaks in the program made it all come together.
My realistic goal coming in was to win races and try to win the championship. I can definitely say I didn’t expect to win 16 races in a row and 17 out of the 20 rounds.
You had some new crew to work with this year. Who was on your side of the tent?
Jon Cornwell, or “Corndog” as we like to call him [Cornwell a former top-notch racer himself, as well as a long-time suspension guru], who stepped in, doing something new for him, and did an amazing job. The boys always knew the direction we wanted to go and had great communication. Also, Darrin Marshall from Canada came on board to do our electronics this year and that was huge. It was interesting, with the [Covid] restrictions Darrin actually didn’t make it to any of the races besides the last two. So he was working remotely from home all weekend long. It was a little difficult not having him there. Me and Jon would get on speakerphone with him between sessions. As soon as we pulled in the bike was plugged in and all the data went straight to Darrin and we’d ask him to take a look at how the bike was working in a certain turn and he’d set the new data and wire it straight to the bike.
Considering all the work that was done remotely, it worked out pretty good. I will add that it was nice having him right there at the last two rounds. And then Mike Canfield and Walker Jemison were my chassis mechanics who were with me the previous season, as well. And, of course, Richard [Stanboli], who was technically Josh’s Crew Chief, but really he’s the guy who organizes the whole program.
How was your relationship with Josh Herrin as a teammate?
It was great. I raced against Josh for years, but never really got to know him. We obviously spent a lot of time together and became good buddies. It was great getting to know Josh. I know he didn’t get the results he wanted, and he missed a couple of races, but we know how talented that guy is.
The idyllic surrounds of The Ridge in Washington were the scene of another Gagne massacre of America’s top Superbike riders.
A lot of the preseason chatter centered on Loris Baz entering the series with the Ducati factory team. What was your reaction to some people thinking he might be the favorite at the start of the year?
First of all, I was excited to have a big-name rider like Baz and a strong team like Ducati in the paddock. It raised the profile of the series. I knew he’d be fast, but I also knew he wouldn’t dominate. Coming over here is a lot different from racing the tracks in Europe. I expected him to be there and to race for wins. He had some tough goes with the bike, but at times he was really strong. He was really close to getting a win. The toughest race for us was Laguna Seca where Baz was right on me the whole time. That was a track where I expected the Ducati to go good and it was never one of my best tracks. So I consider that my best race all year. I made a mistake and ran off the track and then came back to win it. It was good having Baz over here. I wish he could have stayed, because he would have had a season under his belt and been better prepared to take on the series.
First of all, I was excited to have a big-name rider like Baz and a strong team like Ducati in the paddock. It raised the profile of the series.
And then Baz was able to go back over to the Superbike World Championship at the end of the year and get on the podium his second race back.
Yeah, that was awesome. It just shows how competitive the MotoAmerica paddock is. We were stoked to see that. I was happy to see him go back there and do so well, that made us look pretty good. I know there aren’t as many good superbikers here as there are in World Superbike, but the guys who run up front in MotoAmerica are as good as anyone.
So who did you see as your main threat coming into the season? Was it Baz or someone else?
It was Mathew Scholtz just because of the experience he has and his team. Scholtz has shown the ability to be there every weekend, so I figured it would be him or Cam Petersen, who also came in with momentum and a lot to prove.
Looking back at the year you had with the record for longest winning streak, the most wins in a season, and from having no wins coming into 2021 to suddenly being ranked inside the top 10 on the all-time MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike wins list, have you had time to digest what you were able to accomplish in terms of its historic nature?
It’s still sort of like a dream. I think what makes it so wild is that I hadn’t had a superbike win until this year. The season just went by so fast, and the wins were just clicking off. In the moment I really tried not to think about it and just focus on the job, but as the wins piled up the pressure mounted, and it was a lot. At some point you are just expected to win, so I really didn’t have much margin for error. And then when the year ended, it was like, ‘shit! That was a heck of a year!’
A deserving champion, Gagne knows he now has to back it up in 2022.
At the season opener you had the bike blow up on you. Suddenly you were behind the eight ball and looking at a big climb in terms of championship points. Did any doubts enter your mind at that point?
It was the second lap, too, so we barely got past the start and then we’re out. I was pissed at first. Especially since I was on the pole, I thought we had the win and then boom, that happens. But gradually I calmed down and figured we got our bad luck out of the way, we had 19 more races and then winning the next day helped me brush it off.
With the season you had and seeing Cameron Beaubier starting to make waves in Moto2 there was rumor that Yamaha was considering you for MotoGP. Can you give us any insights on that?
I heard the rumors, but I never had any contact with anything that was real. I was open to a ride in MotoGP or World Superbike, if it was a good bike and good opportunity, but there just wasn’t anything out there like that for me, or it doesn’t seem like it at this point. Even to have my name in the hat, if it was, is cool to hear. I know Richard would like to possibly try some World Superbike on our equipment next year, so if an opportunity like that comes around, I’m all in.
Finally, if you are back with Attack next season, how do you stay motivated? After the kind of dominating season you had in 2021, what kind of goals could you set for yourself in 2022?
It’s easy for me to stay motivated. I’m already thinking of ways to improve as a rider and I’m blessed to be able to do what I do. I wake up every day looking forward to getting myself in the best shape physically and mentally to make it even harder on the competition next season. My goals for next year are to simply walk away every weekend knowing that I did a good job and can be proud of myself. That’s what makes it easy for me to stay motivated.
A move from the beaches to the mountains has done wonders for Gagne. His Alaskan malamute and Great Pyrenees dog, Odin, seems pretty pumped, too.
Trading in the surfboard for a snowboard
Jake Gagne made a major move in 2021. After living his whole life in the San Diego area, he moved to the mountains just outside of Durango, Colorado. He’ll be experiencing his first Rocky Mountain winter about now, but when we talked to Jake in early November, he was very happy with the move.
“I spent a lot of time in Colorado riding for the Road Race Factory team and even just road trips with friends,” Gagne explains. “I’ve always loved the area and the mountains. I felt it was time for me to try something new and get out of San Diego and start a new adventure.”
Gagne said his new place gives him some land and a little room to stretch out and do what he likes to do.
“I can just walk out my door and hike, run with my dog or ride my bike,” he says. “It’s been a really nice change of pace. The only thing I miss is the ocean. I grew up surfing so I miss that and all the nice motocross tracks in Southern California, but other than that I wouldn’t change a thing. I enjoy snowboarding and being out in the winter weather, so that will be fun too. I had a greenhouse built, so I’ll see what kind of stuff I can grow here in the winter.”
It’s easy for me to stay motivated. I’m already thinking of ways to improve as a rider and I’m blessed to be able to do what I do.
Jake’s place is up on the side of a mountain, about 20 miles out of Durango and he says it’s peaceful and quiet.
Gagne is not alone on his mountainside retreat. His family is nearby.
“My girlfriend actually moved out here with me,” Jake said. “She just moved back to San Diego before the winter and she has some things to take care of, so we’re going through that. My parents and my brother live really close by. They left San Diego six or seven years ago and moved to Virginia, but they are like me and really like nature, so they came out here to live in Colorado too. So it’s good I have family and friends nearby so I’m not stranded alone on a mountain.”
Left to right: The awesome foursome of Richard Stanboli, Mike Canfield, Tom Halverson and Jon Cornwell. Together with Gagne they have been unstoppable.
Making a Better Rider Via Data
Attack Performance’s Richard Stanboli points to data and having the best rider in the series, in Cameron Beaubier, to compare to, as the biggest reason Jake Gagne improved so much as a rider this year.
“Jake is a motocrosser from day one,” Stanboli said. “It’s a completely different sport in terms of how you ride the motorcycle. It took him awhile to shake some of his motocross roots. One example was we lock out the rear brake so it only applies a certain amount of bar. Jake was so used to riding that [rear brake] that it was actually slowing down the motorcycle on the straightaways.
“Whenever he had a moment, or the bike would start to wheelie he would smash the brake down and it wasn’t a little bit, it was a lot, motocross style. We first noticed it when we discovered his trap speeds were always quite a bit lower than Cam’s. We found out it was Jake over using the brake and when he got that fixed it really moved him to a whole new level as a rider. The data is just important to help improve a rider as it is for the machine.”
What does Richard and Attack Performance do for an encore after overseeing a team that turned in two of the best seasons in the history of the sport?
“Just more of the same,” he said. “The biggest issue is the one that all teams have and that’s trying to find sponsorship. It’s tough to get the funding to do things the right way with a Superbike and manage the resources for personnel, so that continues to be a challenge.
“We’re fortunate in that we have a machine shop here to make parts in house. We can design something here, like a new swingarm or linkage on the computer and the next day pop it out of the machine and go testing. That’s an advantage we have, but we have a very small staff and a small budget, even though it doesn’t look that way from the outside.”
The plan is to still have a two-rider team next season. Stanboli expects announcements from Yamaha soon on next year’s plans. CN
