Petersen Strengthens Superbike Championship Bid with Podium Finish at Laguna Seca
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing's Cameron Petersen keeps podium streak rolling to close the points gap in the hotly contested MotoAmerica Superbike title fight / Jul 14, 2024 /
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen overcame a five-second penalty to finish third in yesterday’s MotoAmerica Superbike Race 1 at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca. The South African continues to strengthen his position in the hotly contested premier class title fight, moving to within two points of the leader. Despite feeling less than 100% with lingering arm pump issues, Jake Gagne maintained his position in the championship with a top-five finish on the physically demanding 2.238-mile track in Monterey, California. The Colorado rider heads into today’s final race before the break, trailing by one point in the runner-up spot.
Petersen had a good start to the day and qualified third to start on the front row of the grid. In the first race of Round 6 of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, he slotted into the runner-up spot and maintained the position but was ultimately shuffled to third. Unfortunately, the South African was assessed a five-second penalty for jumping the start, and although he was third on the track, he was shuffled down the order. Petersen kept pushing and threw down some fast times, staying on the heels of the competition and ultimately making back the five seconds to score a third-place finish. His fourth consecutive podium and eighth of the season closed the gap to the leaders, just two points from the top spot and a point behind his teammate.
Although he had a tough start to the weekend qualifying eighth in the combined times, Gagne had a solid start in seventh and made the pass for sixth on the following lap. The defending three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion rode a strong pace despite dealing with lingering arm pump issues and scored a top-five finish. Gagne’s efforts earned valuable points to remain within a point of the championship leader.
The Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing team looks to return to the top step of the podium as racing resumes this afternoon with MotoAmerica Superbike Race 2 at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.
Richard Stanboli – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“Laguna is always a special place and almost the home track tor the team. We are pleased that despite the circumstances, we are still in a good championship position with both Jake and Cameron. We will have a look at our information from Race 1 and see if we can improve the results for Race 2.”
Cameron Petersen – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing #45
“I kind of knew straight away that I jump-started. They held the red light for a long time, and SDK (Sean Dylan Kelly) started creeping up, and I messed up going off of him. It was a great race, though. I tried to go with Cam (Beaubier) in the beginning but his pace was a little bit too strong for me. Then Josh and I had a good battle the whole race. I knew the situation and what was going on, so even if I passed him it wouldn’t change anything on the podium. I had a couple of moments there towards the end, so I was like, ‘Just bring it home.’ We’ll come back stronger tomorrow.”
Jake Gagne – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing #1
“After struggling so much at the last couple of rounds, it was good to feel a bit better physically and to be a bit closer to the front. Hopefully we can be closer to the front tomorrow and score some points.”
2024 MotoAmerica Superbike Results
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