AMA GO PRO DAYTONA SPORTBIKE SERIES
DAYTONA SPORTBIKE
BY LARRY LAWRENCE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN J. NELSON
J
ake Gagne was next in
line to become Daytona
SportBike Champion, but
it wasn't handed to him. The
21-year-old rider from San Diego
had to face down a mob of hun-
gry, young riders hoping to steal
the DSB throne Gagne looked
ready to assume once Cameron
Beaubier had moved on to AMA
Superbike. Coming into the final
weekend of what might be the fi-
nal DSB races ever, it was down
to Gagne and Meen Motorsports'
Jake Lewis.
Unfortunately for fans the
championship didn't go down to
the wire at New Jersey Motors-
ports Park. Instead it was decid-
ed early in the two-day weekend
when Lewis' bike died and failed
to restart just before Saturday's
race, with water somehow get-
ting into the electrical system of
his Yamaha on the warm-up lap.
Lewis sat there and watched
the rest of the grid speed off at
the drop of the green. The only
benefit of the rain was that it hid
the tears welling up in his eyes.
FINAL ROUND/SEPTEMBER 13-14, 2014
NEW JERSEY MOTORSPORTS PARK/MILLVILLE, NEW JERSEY
P68
ASSUMING
THE THRONE
Jake Gagne wins the Daytona SportBike title
