It’s no secret that Jake Gagne has been having issues with the dreaded “arm-pump.” You’d never know it, however, by watching him come up just .004 of a second of winning the first of two Steel Commander Superbike races at an extremely wet Road America yesterday. Today, however, may be the real test as sunshine and warm temperatures mean faster lap times and the possibility that race pace in the dry may have a different effect on Gagne’s arms. Gagne is also getting the benefits of a fast and flowing Road America racetrack with its long straightaways giving racers a bit of a breather.
“Yeah, for sure,” Gagne said in yesterday’s post-race press conference when asked if the wet conditions were easier on his arms, which underwent another procedure on the Tuesday of race week . “You’re not braking as hard, accelerating as hard. It’s not nearly as physical. But I think we’ll be fine tomorrow, especially at a track like this. We got big, long straightaways. Not quite as physical. We’ll see what happens. It’s going to be crazy if it’s dry. I think it’s going to be dry, but it’s going to be crazy because there’s a lot of guys that are on a really good pace. We’ll see what happens.”
Following yesterday’s second-place finish to teammate Cameron Petersen, Gagne leads the championship by seven points over Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier, who suffered a cracked heel in yesterday’s crash and will miss today’s race two.
Gagne was second fastest in today’s morning warm-up session behind Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin.
