Pit Bits - Utah
Now here's something you don't see every day. Road race tires and knobbies on the same wheel cart. Jake Gagne is the current Daytona Sportbike Series champ, and also a former Red Bull Rookies Cup champion. He got his start on MX bikes, and made the switch a few years ago.
We dig this shot, mostly because it looks like he just took a detour from the road course behind him.
That's Jake on the left. Plenty of riders and mechanics stopped by to check in, and a few (like Justin Starling) tried out this training tool from the American Supercamp Riding School, which shows riders how to use their hips for balance and control.
Jake looked plenty comfortable on the track. Jake still spends plenty of time practicing on dirt, as it's not all that common to get track time between events on his R1. Race weekends get lots of track time, so they're a mix of race setup and testing.
The bike? Yeah, that's a factory Yamaha YZ450F.
Jake was 22nd in moto one, but tweaked a hip flexor that he'd injured in a recent crash, and opted out of moto two. We can't think of too many motocrossers that could make the switch back and forth between dirt and pavement. That was impressive.
Jake's Yamaha R1.
It was cool to see the effort that Jake, his team, and Yamaha put into it.
Use keyboard arrow keys to browse the gallery.
Swipe to browse the gallery.
Vital MX Pit Bits: Miller Motorsports Park