Page 29 - ISSUE2GRIDFINAL

JAKE LEWIS
ATLANTA!
ROAD ATLANTA
BAZZAZ SUPERSTOCK 1000
He was able to start the weekend in full-force and put the incident at COTA behind him as he fought
his way into Superpole throughout the opening practice sessions. Lewis picked up his pace during the qualifying shootout as he placed himself in the last spot on the third row of the grid with a 1:26.017 as the third fastest Superstock 1000 rider. He was able to better his starting position as the lights went out in the first race, moving two places up the order into seventh position overall. Lewis tagged onto the tail-end of a heated battle for the Superstock 1000 victory between Bobby Fong and Mathew Scholtz, placing him in prime position to pick up the scraps if something went awry. The three of them matched one another’s lap times for the majority of the race, but just past the halfway point Lewis began to experience overheating warnings coming from the dashboard of his motorcycle. He intelligently decided to back it down and hold onto eighth position overall (third in his class) as he brought the GSX-R1000 home to the checkered flag. In the second race, Lewis was ready to do battle with Fong and Scholtz for the Superstock 1000 victory yet again, but he encountered a bit of good luck in the early stages of the race as Scholtz was forced to retire due to a mechanical issue. Lewis pressured Fong throughout the first couple of laps, eventually forcing him into a mistake at the end of the back straightaway. ‘The Snake’ sank his teeth into his prey and Fong lost the front end under heavy braking coming into the turn ten chicane, promoting him to sixth position overall and first position in the Superstock class. The M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider rode a hard race all the way until the checkered flag to hold off the CBR1000 Superbike of Jake Gagne at the line, claiming victory in the Superstock class as he stood on the top step of the podium for the first time this season.
WWW.GRITMOTO.COM
29