Scholtz vs. Jacobsen: It’s Getting Hot In Here
The Supersport Championship Battle Is White Hot As The Series Heads To Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course For The First Time In 10 Years
IRVINE, CA (August 14, 2024) – Ever since the contact between Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz and Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen in the second of two Supersport races at Ridge Motorsports Park (with Jacobsen getting the brunt of it), tension has been running a tad high between the two championship rivals. When Jacobsen put two impressive passes on Scholtz in places you wouldn’t expect at the very next round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca to snatch two victories, the heat was turned up even more. And what we have now is a good old-fashioned rivalry for the rest of us to enjoy.
With a month off between Laguna Seca and this weekend’s return to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course after a 10-year hiatus, it’s Go Time again with the Supersport class and five other support classes set to race in conjunction with the Steel Commander Superbike Championship round, August 16-18, in Lexington, Ohio.
Anticipation for all the classes runs high after the summer break, but none higher than in the Supersport class.
To say that Scholtz and Jacobsen have dominated the class would be an understatement. Twelve Supersport races have been held thus far in the 2024 series and the Scholtz/Jacobsen duo has won 11 of them. And they’ve all been close.
Scholtz leads the title chase by 18 points with Jacobsen pulling back 10 points on the South African with his two Laguna Seca wins as he tries to claw his way back after the Ridge incident that cost him at least 20 points. The gap between those two and third-placed Jake Lewis is a Grand Canyon-sized 131 points, and that’s with Altus Motorsports’ Lewis actually having a really good season.
Scholtz’s first season with the Strack team has been impressive with six wins, four second-place finishes, a third and a fourth. Jacobsen and his Rahal Ducati Moto Panigale V2 have been with him the entire way with five wins, five seconds, a third… and his only non-podium DNF with his Ridge crash.
Lewis is third with the Kentuckian scoring points in every round to lead N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Blake Davis by just one point. Jacobsen’s teammate Corey Alexander is fifth in the title chase, 16 behind Davis and just three ahead of his other Rahal Ducati Moto teammate, Kayla Yaakov. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott, the only rider other than Scholtz and Jacobsen to win a race, sits seventh in a troubled season so far for the youngster from Pennsylvania.
Mission King Of The Baggers – Wyman Vs. Herfoss, Harley Vs. Indian
While the Supersport title chase is turning into a rivalry between Scholtz/Yamaha and Jacobsen/Ducati, it pales in comparison to the rivalry in the Mission King Of The Baggers where even the secretaries at the respective Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle factories probably have disdain for each other.
What we have is Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman and S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Troy Herfoss 14 points apart in what appears to be a two-horse race for the title.
Both riders have managed to score points in every round with Wyman leading Herfoss in wins, five to four. The pair are tied in podium finishes with each having nine top-three results.
Wyman’s advantage comes from two solid races in the past round at Laguna Seca with the New Yorker coming away with a win and a second-place finish while Herfoss crashed in race one and remounted to finish 11th. He was a disappointed fourth in race two. That was a 27-point swing in Wyman’s favor in the standings and it resulted in Herfoss heading back to Australia in the hopes of regaining his early season mojo.
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s defending Mission King Of The Baggers Champion Hayden Gillim is third, 61 points behind Wyman, and in a must-win-every-race position.
Gillim is 15 points clear of Herfoss’ teammate Tyler O’Hara and 46 ahead of Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli, who sits fifth and 24 points ahead of class rookie Rocco Landers on the second RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.
Junior Cup – Back In Action
The Junior Cup series has been on vacation since it last saw a checkered flag at Brainerd International Raceway in June, so anticipation for the return of the class at Mid-Ohio is high.
Eight Junior Cup races have been run in 2024 and BARTCON Racing’s Matthew Chapin has won four of them. Chapin’s three wins and a second in his last four starts has him 43 points ahead of New York Safety Track Racing’s Yandel Medina, who is just three points ahead of Speed Demon Racing’s Logan Cunnison.
Levi Badie, who isn’t entered for the Mid-Ohio round, and BPM’s Isaac Woodworth are fourth and fifth, respectively, in the title chase.
Mission Super Hooligan National Championship – Tight At The Top
The closest championship in the MotoAmerica series is the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship with defending champion Tyler O’Hara just eight points ahead of Cory West in another Indian vs. Harley-Davidson battle.
O’Hara and his S&S/Indian Motorcycle FTR1200 has just one win on the season, but five total podiums in the six races. West and his Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson Pan America has two wins and five total podiums. The difference between the two is West’s non-finish at Ridge Motorsports Park.
KWR Harley-Davidson’s Cody Wyman has a victory on his scorecard, and he sits third in the championship – 24 points behind O’Hara.
West’s teammate Jake Lewis is fourth in the standings with a win on his record and he’s seven points ahead of O’Hara’s teammate Troy Herfoss. The Australian has one win on his tally and that came in the very first race of the season at Daytona International Speedway.
Royal Enfield – All Moore
Defending Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. Champion Mikayla Moore has been up to her old tricks all season with five wins out of five starts to carry a commanding 36-point lead into Mid-Ohio. Moore’s only non-win was a non-start when she suffered bumps and bruises in a Twins Cup practice crash that kept her out of action in race one at Road America.
Since then, she’s been unstoppable. As always.
Emma Betters sits second in the championship standings and just four points Betters than Camille Conrad. Conrad, in turn, has Cassie Creer on the hunt in fourth place and just seven points behind.
Kira Knebel rounds out the top five as the class makes its debut at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend.
About MotoAmerica
MotoAmerica is North America’s premier motorcycle road racing series. Established in 2014, MotoAmerica is home to the AMA Superbike Championship as well as additional classes including Supersport, Stock 1000, Twins Cup, Junior Cup, and King Of The Baggers. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership including three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey; ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland; motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges; and businessman Richard Varner. For more information, please visit www.MotoAmerica.com and follow MotoAmerica on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube. To watch all things MotoAmerica, subscribe to MotoAmerica’s live streaming and video on demand service, MotoAmerica Live+
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
RACE PREVIEW:
MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE
LEXINGTON, OH (8.15.2024) – The Rahal Ducati Moto team has ventured to the Rahal’s home track of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, for Rounds 13 and 14 of Supersport competition. This weekend marks the first time in 10 years that the AMA Superbike Championship has raced on the newly repaved track.
Today’s on track activities included four rounds of testing, with PJ Jacobsen topping the charts for the day overall. Corey Alexander, sporting a brand-new livery on his Roller Die + Forming Panigale V2, heads into the weekend eager to gain points in the championship and and Kayla Yaakov anticipates growing her experience and rising in championship standings.
Tomorrow’s schedule will host Practice and Qualifying 1, with Qualifying 2 and Race 1 on Saturday, followed by a warm-up and Race 2 on Sunday.
QUOTE BOARD:
PJ JACOBSEN (No. 15 XPEL Ducati Panigale V2): “I’m looking forward to going back to Mid-Ohio. I haven’t ridden there since I was a kid, back when I was riding a 125cc and Ben [Spies] was racing in the AMA series. It will be great going back, as Mid-Ohio always draws a large crowd of supporters for us and it is the Rahal’s home track. It will be an exciting one for race fans. I can’t wait to get back with the team, make some progress, and collect some wins. That’s our main goal.”
KAYLA YAAKOV (No. 19 XPEL Ducati Panigale V2): “I’m stoked to be racing at Mid-Ohio this weekend on the Rahal Ducati Moto Panigale V2 with XPEL! This track looks like it will suit our bikes very well, and with the addition of the testing day, I cant wait to try and close the gap to the front by the end of the weekend. I’m also excited to be meeting with more fans and Rahal supporters throughout the weekend with Rahal Ducati Cleveland being so close and Mid-Ohio being our team’s home race. Let’s go have some fun!”
COREY ALEXANDER (No. 23 Roller Die + Forming Ducati Panigale V2): “I’m excited to return back to Mid-Ohio! It’s been about ten years since the last time I’ve raced there, but it’s always been a good track for me and one of my favorites on the calendar. It’s also within 10 hours of New York, so I consider it a home race. The break we’ve had over the last few weeks was a great reset, especially being able to get back on a fitness program for the first time since my hip injury. Let’s finish the year off strong!”
BEN SPIES (Team Principal): “Mid-Ohio is a home race for us, and our team is looking forward to it. It’s been about a decade since motorcycles have raced there, and we should be quite a bit faster since it’s been repaved. PJ is locked in a great championship battle with Mathew Scholtz, Kayla has been continuing to impress, and Corey has been riding extremely well the whole year. Hopefully, Corey can get in the mix and stir up some problems for Mathew and PJ so we can get more points there. It’s going to be a great weekend. Hopefully there will a lot of people that come out to support. I’ve always enjoyed Mid-Ohio, as my first Superbike Championship was there, so I love going back. We’re looking forward to good weather and good racing.”
