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ROUND 6 / JULY 8-10, 2022 WEATHERTECH RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA / MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA P78 ROAD RACE I MOTOAMERICA FIM NORTH AMERICAN ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP Victory at Laguna Seca marks four on the trot for the defending champion, and the first time he's led the series in 2022 with a now three-point lead over Petrucci. "It's kind of nice being on the inside here," Gagne said of his starting position. "But my initial jump was really strong. This Yamaha always gets off the line good. I got down into turn two pretty hard. I was expect- ing somebody to throw it up the inside, for sure. I think, like Danilo (Petrucci) said, maybe he missed a gear. I got a little lucky on the first lap, to get that bit of a break. I came by first lap and on the pit board I see 0.3 or 0.4. It's just enough to kind of make me run my lines and not have to ride too defensively. At that point it's like, 'Okay, just click off laps.' I was a little bit surprised, honestly. I was a little surprised to see my gap growing a little bit more than I had anticipated." Petrucci saw his 11-point title lead evaporate in California after first clashing with Gagne's teammate Cameron Petersen in the Cork- screw on the final lap of race one, the Italian coming home third on that occasion before bettering for second in race two after breaking clear of the best of the rest early as Gagne rode off into the distance. Petersen's run of podiums continued with a second in race one and third in race two, the MYOWNRACE 9 DANILO PETRUCCI 3-2 SUPERBIKE "Today I have just a small mistake," Petrucci said. "I think in the middle of the race I went a li le bit wide in turn two. I tried to follow Jake (Gagne) the first lap, but at the beginning I don't have so much feeling on the front. My rear re has grip, and the front is shaking. I cannot really trust the bike. Then a er a few laps I have no trac on and I just can manage. I tried to stay with Jake, but he was simply faster than me and truly deserves the champion- ship lead because in the last races he has been really, really fast." 45 CAMERON PETERSEN 2-3 SUPERBIKE "Towards the end of the race, I think ev- erybody was in the same boat, struggling for rear grip," Petersen a er race two. "I just wasn't able to get the drive out of any of the corners. Danilo is really strong on the brakes. I was trying to see if any- where would be possible. I had an idea. I was really good through turn 10 going into turn 11. I thought I might be able to do something the last lap, but [I made] a li le mistake over the Corkscrew. He was able to get that li le bit of a gap, and that was it." Mathew Scholtz (11) started from pole but could do nothing about the rampaging Gagne.