It’s almost an understatement that Barber Motorsports Park is a magical race course for Mathew Scholtz and the Westby Racing team. In 14 Superbike races at Barber Motorsports Park over the past six years, Mathew has finished on the podium 11 times. That means that The Scholtz Kid has finished on the MotoAmerica Superbike podium 78.57% of the time during his career.
It's a rather gaudy record of success, but Mathew will be the first to tell you that he’d rather those podium finishes be race victories. Such is the mentality of a professional motorcycle racer who always sees room for improvement.
On Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, Mathew started from the outside of the front row in third, and that’s the position he was in when he crossed the finish line. He didn’t get the start he hoped for, and that immediately made it even tougher for him to catch fellow Yamaha riders Cameron Petersen and Jake Gagne. He slipped back in the pack a bit during the first few laps, but he ultimately fought his way back up to his original starting position.
All in all, a Yamaha podium sweep is clearly something that Mathew and the entire team should be proud of.
“My start was terrible,” Mathew said. “I was back in fifth or sixth place. Battled Richie (Escalante) for one or two laps. Then, Josh (Herrin) was really fighting me hard. But, I managed to get past him, and then, I put in a couple of decent laps. It’s not that I caught Cam (Petersen) and Jake (Gagne). I just kind of felt that if I was there, I could have actually been a part of the battle and hung onto them. So, I know tomorrow, we just have to kind of clean up a few spots on the track where we were losing some serious time. Otherwise, I feel like I can be battling these boys up here next to me.
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Meet Mathew, Get An Autographed Poster, And More
Mathew will be available for autographs during the Dunlop Hot Pit Walk & Autograph Session, scheduled for 11:15 a.m. to Noon Sunday on pit lane at Barber Motorsports Park. He and the team will be handing out free posters and T-shirts, so don’t miss it
Check Out The Westby Racing Sponsor Showcase
Attack Performance, Puig USA Inc, and Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., are the featured team sponsors on display in the Westby Racing paddock area this race weekend, so be sure to stop by to say hello and learn about some of the companies that support the team.
Also, follow “Westby Racing” on your favorite social media sites.