Former NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion LE Tonglet will be celebrating plenty of new in his life when he shows up for the Gatornationals March 16-19 at Gainesville, Fla.

On the track, Tonglet, the 2010 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle title holder, will be making his debut as a teammate to Jerry Savoie, the reigning Pro Stock Motorcycle world champ. Tonglet and Savoie will be riding Vance & Hines-powered Suzukis this season.

“It’s a lot of fun being a teammate with Jerry,” Tonglet said. “Jerry’s a good guy. He’s from Louisiana like us and it has been a lot of fun working with him and I’m looking forward to this year. We should have a lot of fun with us Cajuns out there, and I can’t wait for the season to start.”

Tonglet lives in Metairie, La., which is about an hour from Savoie’s home in Cut Off, La. Tonglet finished fifth in the PSM points standings a year ago, highlighted by his win at Sonoma, Calif., in July.

Off the track, Tonglet was married to the former Kayla Gillespie, March 4 in New Orleans, and the couple just spent their honeymoon in Hawaii.

“I guess you could say everything is new for me,” Tonglet said. “Being in Hawaii was like paradise, and I’m excited about everything going on in my life.”

Tonglet said he has done some testing with Savoie’s team in preparation for the Gatornationals.

“We’ve been testing three times now and each time it gets better and better and (crew chief) Tim (Kulungian) is getting a better handle on the bike, and I’m getting more comfortable riding it, and I think Gainesville is going to fun,” Tonglet said. “The plan is for us to finish 1-2 in the points this season. Tim is very smart and Jerry is riding his butt off. It’s going to be tough to be 1-2, but that’s the goal.”

According to Tonglet, the first shakedown with his new team took place Oct. 31 at The Strip at Las Vegas Speedway. The other two test sessions took place in Bradenton, Fla., in December and February.

“These are the same engines I ran before, but the way the chassis is setup is different,” Tonglet said. “This bike I will be riding is a lot different than the bike I was riding last year. This bike has a totally different feel.”

During the three test sessions, Tonglet said he made around 20 runs.

Tonglet acknowledged being with Savoie’s team will be an adjustment for him because for years he and his family ran an independent Pro Stock Motorcycle team and his father, Gary, was his crew chief.

“My dad will still be going to all of the races, but we can fly in and fly out to races if we choose to,” said LE, who works as a firefighter when he’s not racing. “The test sessions we went to my hands didn’t even get dirty because they don’t let me work on the bike either. It’s a lot different. I have a lot more downtime, and it’s a lot less stressful, and it’s always good when you have less stress.”