The Westby Racing team couldn’t have asked for a much better start to the 2022 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship than the one they had this weekend at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. Last year’s championship runner-up Mathew Scholtz notched two second-place finishes at COTA aboard the #11 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1, and he led each of the two races on the weekend.
Starting from second on the grid, Mathew got a decent start off the line, but was shuffled back one spot on the opening lap. He quickly went to work, however, moving back up to second, and then he overtook former MotoGP rider Danilo Petrucci for the lead. The two fierce riders battled back-and-forth and swapped positions several times, with Mathew asserting himself at the front on lap three and being credited with leading laps four, five, and six. A casualty of the fight, however, was Mathew’s tires, which began to lose grip as the laps wound down. Petrucci overtook Mathew on lap seven and didn’t relinquish it for the remainder of the 14-lap race. Mathew held strong to his position and took the checkered flag in second place for the second day in a row.
“I could see that Danilo was a little bit stronger than he was yesterday in the middle part of the track,” Mathew said. “So, I passed him in the corner and just tried to make sure that he couldn’t drive and get me back. I thought Cam Petersen and Jake Gagne were a lot closer to us than they were. I think Danilo maybe passed me around the halfway point of the race. I’m really, really happy to be back up here on the podium, though. Two second-place finishes. I couldn’t be happier. Both of these guys (Petrucci and Gagne) are extremely talented motorcycle riders. I’m honored to be up here on the podium with them.”
Mathew and the Westby Racing team will be back in action for round two of the 2022 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, which takes place at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, on April 22 through 24.
MotoAmerica Superbike Standings
1. Danilo Petrucci – Ducati – 50
2. Mathew Scholtz – Yamaha – 40
3. Cameron Petersen – Yamaha – 29
4. Richie Escalante – Suzuki – 20
5. Jake Lewis – Suzuki – 20