American racer Jake Gagne will get another shot in the World Superbike Championship, as he is set to replace the injured Stefan Bradl at the upcoming Magny-Cours round.
Gagne made an impression on the WorldSBK paddock during his one-off ride at Laguna Seca, where he scored twice in the points, with two 15th place finishes.
“First of all, I would like to wish Stefan a speedy recovery: I’ve been there before and it’s never nice to have stay away from racing due to injury,” said Gagne. Obviously I would like to thank Honda and the team for the opportunity to come back and get a second shot at World Superbike.”
“Laguna Seca was a dream come true for me, and the knowledge and experience I gained from the team throughout that weekend was massive. It will also be nice to have some experience with this version of the Fireblade going into FP1.”
“Magny-Cours is a completely new track for me but I look forward to the challenge of racing on a new circuit and continuing to learn and grow. I have also never been to France, so it will be an exciting week!”
Bradel tore a ligament in his right wrist during a highside in Race 1 at Portimão, last weekend. He will undergo surgery on his wrist tomorrow, after which a recovery time for the German rider will be announced.
In the meantime, Bradl will be replaced by Gagne in France, while Davide Giugliano will also join the team as a fill-in rider on Nicky Hadyen’s vacant Honda CBR1000RR SP2.
It’s not clear at this time how much of Gagne’s ride could be an audition for a future place in the Red Bull Honda team, though certainly a positive result could help the young American racer to move up to the international stage.
Source: Red Bull Honda; Photo: © 2017 Jensen Beeler / Asphalt & Rubber – Creative Commons – Attribution 3.0
