With three rounds completed in the 2020 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz has also been on the podium three times so far, including two rostrum visits this weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Mathew equaled his third-place finish in Saturday’s race one with another third place in Sunday’s race two, and in each event, he completed an all-Yamaha podium sweep aboard his iconic gold-and-black #11 Westby Racing YZF-R1. Of the two podium results, he was a lot happier with the one he got on Sunday, and he explained why.
“I got a decent jump off the line,” Mathew said. “Jake (Gagne) passed me early on, and I started panicking slightly because I knew they would catch Toni (Elias) fairly quickly. So, I got past Toni around turn seven. Then I think a couple laps after that myself and Jake were going backwards and forwards maybe down to about one to two seconds. Then I think Jake upped his pace, and I had nothing for him. I was kind of sliding around a lot. Yesterday, I finished third, as well, and I wasn’t happy because we were so far back. Today, I finished third again, but I’m actually really happy with the result. We kind of closed the gap to these two guys (Beaubier and Gagne). Both of them are riding really well. Hopefully, at Pittsburgh, we can continue making progress and close the gap to them.”
Westby Racing’s Junior Cup rider Cody Wyman, who finished eighth in Saturday’s race one, was determined to improve on his results in race two on Sunday. His team made a couple of setup changes to his #34 Yamaha YZF-R3 to help improve the handling but, as has been the case in every race so far this year, Cody got caught up in a group of riders all racing together. He tried to time his draft-passes so that he would be at the front of the seven-rider pack when he took the checkers, but it didn’t quite pan out the way he had hoped. His 12th-place finish was less than a second-and-a-half behind the sixth-place finisher.
Cody commented, “I got a decent start and passed a couple bikes early on, and in the opening laps, I knew we were stuck in a big battle for sixth place. I think there were seven bikes all bunched together, and I cycled through all of them throughout the entire race. It was just a strategy game, and I felt like I was in a good spot to draft some riders on the final lap. Unfortunately, it was a gamble and I got unlucky on the run to the finish line. Everyone was shuffling around, and we ended up on the wrong end of it.
“On the bright side, we’re learning more every time we race, and we’re continuing to develop the 2020 Yamaha YZF-R3. I’m looking forward to getting back on track in just a week. PittRace has been tough on me in the past, but I can’t wait to get there and take up the challenge. Thanks to my team and sponsors for believing in me and this program.”
Next up for Westby Racing is round four of the MotoAmerica Championship, which will take place next weekend at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (PittRace) in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
MotoAmerica Superbike Standings
- Cameron Beaubier – Yamaha – 125
- Jake Gagne – Yamaha – 106
- Bobby Fong – Suzuki – 82
- Mathew Scholtz – Yamaha – 76
MotoAmerica Junior Cup Standings
- Rocco Landers – Kawasaki – 135
- Dominic Doyle – Kawasaki – 131
- Samuel Lochoff – Kawasaki – 90
- Cody Wyman – Yamaha – 51
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