More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Scholtz Wins MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Race One At Road America
Mathew Scholtz Beats Danilo Petrucci In Road America Superbike Battle
ELKHART LAKE, WI (June 4, 2022) – Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz finished second in five of the seven MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike races going into Saturday’s race one at Road America. But he refused to finish second again, the South African going head-to-head with Italian Danilo Petrucci and coming out on top of a last-lap brawl to score his first victory of the season and the fifth Superbike win of his career.
With Scholtz and Petrucci well clear of the battle for third place, it all came down to the last lap. Petrucci led, but Scholtz had a plan and he stuck to it. With a late-braking effort and a block pass into turn five, Scholtz took the lead. Petrucci tried to pass in the final corner, but it didn’t work and Scholtz was able to hold off the horsepower of the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC Panigale V4 R up the hill to the finish line – by just .015 of a second.
The win, the fifth Superbike victory of Scholtz’ career and his first in the dry, vaulted him to the top of the championship point standings by a single point over Petrucci, 125-124.
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Hector Barbera was third, the Spaniard earning his first MotoAmerica podium in his second season in the series. Barbera crossed the line 8.5 seconds behind the battle for victory and just .055 of a second ahead of his teammate PJ Jacobsen.
And what of defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne? Gagne and Petrucci touched under braking, and both ran wide on the first lap in turn five. While Petrucci was able to get his Ducati slowed down and turned, Gagne was forced to take to the gravel trap on the outside of turn five and he tipped over. By the time Gagne got going again, he was 29th and dead last.
From there Gagne and his Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1 went on a charge through the pack to an eventual fifth-place finish and the 11 championship points that come with it. Points that may prove valuable at season’s end.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis and Richie Escalante were next, the pair separated by some 13 seconds with Lewis sixth and Escalante seventh.
Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander was eighth with Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Larry Pegram ninth, in his return to MotoAmerica Superbike racing, and Aftercare Hayes Scheibe Racing’s Ashton Yates rounding out the top 10.
With seven races in the books, Scholtz leads Petrucci, 125-124 with Gagne third with 102 points. Barbera moves into fourth with 79 points, one point more than Gagne’s teammate Cameron Petersen with the South African out of the race on lap five with a mechanical failure.
Mathew Scholtz – Winner
“I kind of thought after corner five, I had a decent gap that he (Petrucci) wouldn’t be close enough to me, but he obviously had a really good couple corners after that and caught up to me. I didn’t realize in the final corner he was going to try to pass me. I kind of heard him turning in and out of the corner of my eye, I saw his front tire. I actually had to give it a little bit of gas to make sure that he didn’t touch me and push me wide. We crossed the finish line and I looked right, and he was right there next to me. I wasn’t even sure that I had won, at that point. I think over the last two races that we’ve had, if you combine both of those finishing times, they’re both less than eight tenths. So, it’s been extremely close. I’m just really happy to be up here battling with this guy. Coming off of MotoGP, winning a Dakar stage, it really shows how the Westby team have made the bike better, how I’m riding better. I think things might have been different if Jake (Gagne) was there, but sometimes you’ve got to take your luck when it comes.”
Danilo Petrucci – Second Place
“I don’t know if I was able to pass him on the straight before the finish line, so I tried to pass him in the last corner. I tried, but I’m happy because since VIR we are facing a big problem with the engine brake. This morning we decided to completely change the setup on the engine brake, especially on braking. It seems this morning the bike was working a little bit better. For sure, it was a tough weekend, but I’m happy with this second place. For sure I wanted to win. I tried until the last moment. For sure I understood that I need to be harder on the pass because every rider that passed me pushed me out of the way. From tomorrow on I will try the same.”
Hector Barbera – Third Place
“It’s a very great moment for me because I work too much for that moment, but I think with that bike we need more time for arrive to go fast. But after today, we try a good line for my bike go better, especially the electronics part. Now I’m faster. Every session I’m more and more fast with more confidence. I’m very happy. The team has worked very good and worked a lot all winter because new bike. Needed too much time for go fast.”
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
Mathew Scholtz Takes Over Superbike Championship Lead With Signature Win On Saturday At Road America
Elkhart Lake, WI – June 4, 2022 – Road America has always been a highlight of the season for Westby Racing. It’s a track where Dane Westby did well, and he and the team built a strong fan base at “America’s National Park Of Speed.” For the team’s Superbike rider Mathew Scholtz, Road America is also a special place since it’s the first track that Scholtz raced at when he came to the U.S. to compete in the MotoAmerica series back in 2016. Mathew’s Superbike win on Saturday at Road America made the track extra-special to him and the team.
Going into the afternoon’s feature event, Mathew had qualified on the inside of row two, and with three riders ahead of him at the start, he anticipated a struggle. But then, that’s why you race. And race, Mathew did. On the opening lap, Jake Gagne and Danilo Petrucci made contact with each other, which sent them temporarily off the track. That left Cam Petersen to take the lead. Then, on lap five, Petersen’s bike had a technical issue, causing him to retire from the race. By then, Danilo Petrucci had recovered from his off-track excursion on lap one and took the lead. Mathew overtook the former MotoGP rider on lap six, but Petrucci overtook him again. With Mathew in second, he stalked the Italian until the final lap when he executed a perfect block pass in turn five and took the lead. Petrucci tried to overtake Mathew in the final corner, but he couldn’t make it stick and Mathew prevailed in the drag race to the finish line, notching the fifth Superbike victory of his MotoAmerica career.
“On the last lap, after passing Petrucci in turn five, I had a decent gap,” commented Mathew. “I didn’t think he could get close enough to pass me back, but he had a really good couple corners after that and caught up to me. I actually didn’t realize, in the final corner, that he was going to try to pass me. I heard him turning and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw his front tire. I actually had to give it a little bit of gas to make sure that he didn’t touch me and push me wide. We crossed the finish line, and I looked right, and he was right there next to me. I wasn’t even sure that I had won. I think, over the past couple of races, if you combine the finishing gaps, they’re both less than eight-tenths of a second. So, it’s been extremely close. I’m just really happy to be up here battling with this guy. With him coming here from MotoGP, and winning a Dakar stage, it really shows how the Westby team has made the bike better, and how I’m riding better.”
With the victory, Mathew now leads the 2022 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship by one point. He and the team will prepare for Superbike race two, which starts on Sunday at 3:10 p.m. CT. The race will be broadcast on Fox Sports 2 (FS2) Sunday night at 7 p.m. ET.
For all the action from Road America, as it happens, subscribe to MotoAmerica Live+, which is MotoAmerica’s live streaming and on-demand service.
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 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday on pit lane at Road America. 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
BrakeTech USA and Renthal 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.
For more updates about Westby Racing, including news, photos, and videos, visit http://www.WestbyRacing.com
Also, follow “Westby Racing” on your favorite social media sites.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Gagne Charges Back to Top-Five Finish at Road America
Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne charged back through the pack to score a top-five finish after a tip-over on the opening lap of today’s MotoAmerica Superbike Race 1 at Road America. His teammate Cameron Petersen was leading the race in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, but unfortunately retired early with a technical issue.
Gagne once again set the pace, topping the timesheets in every session en route to his fourth pole position in four tries this season. He got a great start and made the pass for the lead going into Turn 5, but he and his title rival went off track and unfortunately, Gagne had a tip-over in the gravel. The defending champion rejoined the race at the back of the field and threw down some consistently fast laps to make his way to fifth on the final lap, scoring some valuable points in the title chase.
Petersen also showed speed straight away, qualifying second to start next to his teammate on the front row. He narrowly missed the holeshot, and then took over the lead on that opening lap as his teammate and title rival went off track in Turn 5. Petersen was running a good pace up front and holding off his fellow Yamaha rider until a technical issue on Lap 5 had him withdrawing from the race.
The Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team looks to come back swinging in tomorrow’s MotoAmerica Superbike Race 2 at Road America on Sunday, June 5.
Richard Stanboli – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“Our Yamaha R1s and riders have been performing flawlessly all weekend. Unfortunately, Jake got together with (Danilo) Petrucci and fell in the gravel trap, but he did a great job to pick up the bike and run the fastest laps of the race to finish fifth.
“Cameron has been right on schedule with his progression and has been performing great. He was leading the race and looking poised to win when his bike suddenly stopped. We are investigating the source of the technical issue and will be ready for tomorrow no matter what the weather brings.”
Jake Gagne – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing
“Both Cam and I got off to a great start but unfortunately got into Turn 5 with another rider and fell in the gravel. Luckily we picked it up and salvaged some points today. These Yamahas are still in winning form and we look to come back tomorrow.”
Cameron Petersen – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing
“I got a good start and was starting to get into a good race pace, and was feeling confident. A couple of laps before halfway, I went into Turn 5 and the bike stopped, and unfortunately, couldn’t finish the race. Yeah, it’s a shame, but that’s racing sometimes. We’ve had a good pace all weekend and we keep progressing. I’m looking forward to tomorrow no matter what the conditions bring.”
