Despite A Sunday Setback, Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz Retains Second Place In Superbike Championship
Braselton, GA – After going fifth-fastest in Sunday morning warmup, Westby Racing Superbike rider Mathew Scholtz was poised for a spot on the podium in the afternoon’s Superbike race. Unfortunately, things didn’t go to plan, and he was unable to finish the race aboard his Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike.
After two red flags, the race was re-started, and Mathew got off the line well. He slotted into third on the opening lap, but on the second lap, he unfortunately had a tipover. He re-mounted, re-joined the race in 20th position, and began moving through the field with a plan to salvage as many points as he could. Mathew made it forward to 16th, but he ultimately had to return to the pits on lap 11 and retire from the race.
All in all, it was a tough way to end the weekend at his home track, especially after finishing second in Saturday’s race one. One consolation, however, is that, despite the DNF on Sunday, Mathew is still second in the championship point standings.
The Westby Racing team will be back in action for round three of the 2022 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, which takes place at VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, on May 20 through 22.
MotoAmerica Superbike Standings
1. Danilo Petrucci – Ducati – 75
2. Mathew Scholtz – Yamaha – 60
3. Cameron Petersen – Yamaha – 49
4. Hector Barbera – BMW – 46
5. Richie Escalante – Suzuki – 42
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More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
Race One Victory Starts Weekend on High
Sunnyvale, Calif. – Danilo Petrucci (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC) rode the emotional roller-coaster at Road Atlanta this weekend, taking a resounding three victories in a row with race one but suffering the heartache of a mechanical DNF while starting second in race two.
On the Italian’s first visit to the world-famous racing venue, Petrucci took the first race win over Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha) after Jake Gagne (Yamaha) crashed out of the lead, perching him on a perfect 75 points in the championship.
That was to be the high point of the weekend as race two saw a series of delays, first caused by a rider crashing and causing a red flag. The long delays on the grid provided the perfect conditions for a mechanical problem, and Petrucci was out of the race on lap two with a DNF.
Despite the DNF, luck still smiled on Petrucci and the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC team as Scholtz also failed to finish, meaning Petrucci still leads the championship heading into round three at VIRginia International Raceway in three weeks’ time.
2022 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship Standing – Top 5
P1 – Danilo Petrucci (Ducati) 75
P2 – Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha) 60
P3 – Cameron Petersen (Yamaha) 49
P4 – Hector Barbera (Ducati) 46
P5 – Richie Escalante (Suzuki) 42
Danilo Petrucci (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC – Ducati #9): “It was a disappointing Sunday,” Petrucci said after race two. “I did the best lap time in the warm-up, and I was ready to race but because of delays we idled the engine for too long and suffered a terminal engine problem. It’s quite sad to lose a race this way.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer:
DOUBLE PODIUM FOR VISION WHEEL M4 ECSTAR SUZUKI’S LEWIS & LOCHOFF AT ROAD ATLANTA
Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer earned their first two trophies of the young season as the 2022 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship resumed action at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki Superbike pilot Jake Lewis arguably served as the headliner, scoring his first premier-class podium finish in four seasons.
The lanky Kentuckian emerged from a chaotic opening handful of laps in third position and then spent the bulk of the contest defending the position aboard his Suzuki GSX-R1000R Superbike. The gap behind him closed perilously with around five laps to run, but Lewis responded brilliantly to the pressure. Rather than fold, he re-upped his pace to ultimately secure third at the checkered flag.
He said, “It’s always nice to be up here. It’s been since 2018 that I was last on a Superbike podium. We’re getting back up to speed with the pace of these guys. I’m getting more comfortable on the bike – this bike is a lot different than the stock bike I rode last year. I had a decent pace and I just kept pushing and pushing and managing the board. It’s obviously nice to be up here for all the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki guys. They’ve been working so hard for me, and we’ll keep working away and build up speed as the year goes on.”
Lewis’ teammate, Richie Escalante, had an even more eventful day; The class newcomer made a fast start from the second row, but ran off track early and dropped outside of the top 20 positions as a result.
The former Supersport champ charged his way forward for the remainder of the race, at last landing in fifth to give the team a double top-five result to celebrate on top of Lewis’ return to the box.
Meanwhile, MotoAmerica Supersport title contender Samuel Lochoff guided the squad’s new GSX-R750 racebike to its first class podium result with a runner-up result.
Lochoff’s 16-year-old rookie Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate, Tyler Scott, after qualifying in fourth position, got away even better but a chain reaction from when another rider hit his kill switch caused Scott to crash on the race’s second lap, bringing out a red flag.
Scott explained, “A rider in front of me had a bike issue, and l had to adjust my line and just got pinched off. Bad place at a bad time. On the bright side, the bike felt good. Tomorrow we’ll try to be in a better position and work our way to the front.”
Lochoff took maximum advantage of the second opportunity to get a strong start, jumping out second off the line and never looking back from there.
The South African said, “My Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team spent the last two days working on the bike. We came here with a bunch of unknowns and they did everything possible to put us in this position. The 750 is awesome. We’re going to keep working and we’re going to get there. I’m excited.”
Third Supersport pilot Liam Grant collected points in his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki debut, coming home in 14th position.
The promising combined results for the team on Saturday suggest the potential for another rewarding day on Sunday as the entire team continues to gain speed and confidence with each subsequent opportunity.
ABOUT TEAM HAMMER
The 2022 season marks Team Hammer’s 42nd consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 128 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 332 times and have won 11 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National Championships, as well as two FIM South American Championships (in Superbike and Supersport.) The team has also won 137 endurance races overall (including seven 24-hour races) and 13 Overall WERA National Endurance Championships with Suzuki motorcycles, and holds the U.S. record for mileage covered in a 24-hour race. The team also competed in the televised 1990s Formula USA National Championship, famously running “Methanol Monster” GSX-R1100 Superbikes fueled by methanol, and won four F-USA Championships.
ABOUT VISION WHEEL
Founded in 1976, Vision Wheel is one of the nation’s leading providers of custom wheels for cars and trucks, and one of the first manufacturers of custom wheels and tires for ATVs, UTVs, and golf carts. Vision Wheel looks beyond the current trends and to the future in developing, manufacturing, and distributing its wheels. Vision’s lines of street, race, off-road, American Muscle, and Milanni wheels are distributed nationally and internationally through a trusted network of distributors. Vision Wheel also produces the Vision It AR app to allow users to see how their wheel of choice will look on their vehicle before purchase and installation. For more information on Vision Wheel, visit www.visionwheel.com.
ABOUT SUZUKI
Suzuki Motor USA, LLC. (SMO) distributes Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automotive Parts, Accessories, and ECSTAR Oils & Chemicals via an extensive dealer network throughout 49 states. Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automobiles, Outboard Motors, and related products. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has business relations with 201 countries/regions. For more information, visit www.suzuki.com.
More, from a press release issued by Robem Engineering:
Robem Engineering Aprilia riders Hobbs, Gloddy finish second, third Sunday in MotoAmerica Twins Cup race
New Hampshirites round out second all-Aprilia Twins Cup podium at Road Atlanta in two years
BRASELTON, Ga. — When the Aprilia RS 660 made its debut in the MotoAmerica Twins Cup last year at Road Atlanta, two Robem Engineering riders were part of an all-Aprilia podium in the motorcycle’s first race. This year’s MotoAmerica event at Road Atlanta featured similar results, as Robem Engineering Aprilia’s Teagg Hobbs and Ben Gloddy finished second and third Sunday in the round’s lone Twins Cup contest.
It was Hobbs’ second runner-up finish in three races with the Robem Engineering team, and he’s now just 3 points behind the class leader in the battle for the 2022 MotoAmerica Twins Cup title. Gloddy greatly improved his bid for the 2022 title at Road Atlanta, as he moved up from 12th to seventh in the points standings.
Hobbs showed excellent pace from the first on-track session of the event. He was the second fastest rider in Twins Cup Friday practice and missed out on the top spot in Qualifying 1 by 0.003 seconds. Gloddy finished practice ninth fastest but upped his pace for Qualifying 1. He wrapped up that session in fourth place and improved his best lap time by nearly three seconds.
Qualifying for the Twins Cup concluded Saturday morning with both riders finishing in the top four. Hobbs struggled through the early part of the session but missed out on pole position by a mere 0.025 seconds. Gloddy finished Qualifying 2 in fourth place and further improved his best lap time by about half a second.
Sunday’s race featured Hobbs locked in a race-long battle for the race lead, while Gloddy came out on top in a multi-bike battle for the last step on the podium. Both riders got good starts on Sunday when racing kicked off at about noontime, but the contest was stopped before one lap was completed due to a series of crashes.
When the race restarted, Hobbs and the race leader got good starts, and Gloddy slipped down the running order several positions on the first lap. As Hobbs and another Aprilia rider took turns leading the race, Gloddy kept his composure and worked his way to the front of the battle for third place. Hobbs made a valiant effort to hold onto the race lead but had to settle for a runner-up finish by a margin of 0.073 seconds. Gloddy was battling hard for third until the last lap and claimed his first MotoAmerica Twins Cup podium by 0.223 seconds.
The Robem Engineering team has three weeks to prepare for the next MotoAmerica round, which takes place May 20-22 at VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, Va.
Teagg Hobbs / No. 79
“The team really did their job this weekend. We made progress on our setup every session, and the Robem Engineering team had my Aprilia on point for today’s race. We did what we needed to do this weekend to get a bunch more valuable championship points. It’s still early in the season. We’re in this for long run, and finishes like this are just part of the process.”
Ben Gloddy / No. 72
“We started the weekend with a pretty good setup on our Aprilia. We struggled with getting the bike to turn early in the weekend, but we got that sorted out in time for the race. I’m really happy to be on the podium here at Road Atlanta. If we keep working like this, I think we’ll be good to go for the rest of the season. We’ve found a good base setup that I think will transfer over to VIR nicely.”
Robem Engineering’s technical partners for 2022 include Aprilia Racing, Piaggio Group Americas, The Center for Plastic Surgery, Synchrony, Velocity Calibrations, Bitubo Suspension, Woodcraft Technologies, Dymag, Vesrah, Sprint Filter, DID, Magura USA, Sara Chappell Photos, NGK/NTK, Blud Lubricants, Millennium Technologies, Motovation USA and SC-Project.
More, from another press release issued by Ducati:
Shelina Moreda Takes Top Ducati Spot at Round Two of Super Hooligans 2022
The Californian Gelling Perfectly With Her Ducati Hypermotard 950 SP
Sunnyvale, Calif. – Shelina Moreda’s weekend at round two of the 2022 Roland Sands Design Super Hooligan National Championship at Road Atlanta went superbly, as the ultra-popular racer took the top Ducati honors and a pair of top 10 finishes.
It’s been a busy week for Moreda after a late split with the Nowasky Performance team saw her instead join forces with the Northern Californian-based Feel Like A Pro She’z Racing outfit, and at the undulating Georgian venue, she broke a few hearts by taking an impressive 10th from a back row start and improved to ninth in race two, taking top Ducati on both occasions.
The results from Road Atlanta sees Moreda leap up to eighth in the standings with one round to go at Laguna Seca on July 8-10.
2022 Roland Sands Design Super Hooligan National Championship—Top 5
P1 – Andy DiBrino (KTM) 61
P2 – Cory West (Indian) 58
P3 – Tyler O’Hara (Indian) 57
P4 – Nate Kern (BMW) 35
P5 – Jeremy McWilliams (Indian) 33
P8 – Shelina Moreda (Ducati) 21
Shelina Moreda (Feel Like A Pro She’z Racing – #93): “My race weekend was epic!” Moreda said. “I’m getting to know this Ducati well and it’s so much fun to ride. It’s great racing in the Super Hooligans class—one of the most enjoyable championships I’ve ever raced in. In race one I had a great start from the back of the grid and ended up 10th. Today my goal was another top 10 but in single digits and I got there so I’m very happy about that. I also dropped a full second off my times after some suspension changes with Ohlins and the bike was responding much better to my inputs. Thank you also to Ducati North America for putting me on this bike. I’m having such a blast on it and really enjoying these MotoAmerica events.”