Scholtz Makes History In Barber Thriller

Scholtz put on a spectacular performance in the drama-packed final round of the MotoAmerica championship at Barber.

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Birmingham, Alabama (September 17, 2017) – Mathew Scholtz made history on a rainy Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park, the Yamalube/Westby rider becoming the first rider to win a Motul Superbike race on a Superstock-spec 1000. Scholtz, with his first career AMA Superbike win, also became the first South African to take victory in the 41-year history of the series.

The race was wet and wild and it took three starts to get it completed. The first start was a dry race that was stopped when a light rain began. The second start was called a wet race but was aborted after just one lap when heavy rains and puddles caused Scholtz to crashed on the front straight. The third time was the charm and Scholtz didn’t let his first high-speed slide through the water slow him. He reeled in fast starter Josh Hayes, passed him and then held off the last-lap advances of Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda’s Jake Gagne until Gagne crashed out while on Scholtz tail on the final lap. That allowed newly crowned MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Elias to finish second and four-time AMA Superbike Champion Hayes to take third.

“On the final lap, I looked back and saw that Jake (Gagne) was maybe one second back and I was just trying to hold tight lines,” said Scholtz. “I had no idea that Jake had actually crashed and thought that he was right on me the entire time. I was focusing on getting a good drive that last lap and nearly tossed it away twice. I couldn’t be happier taking the overall win today since this means so much to the Westby Yamaha guys and I think they’re over the moon with what we accomplished.”

Scholtz crossed the line just 1.01 seconds ahead of Elias and the Yoshimura Suzuki to win the Honda Championship of Alabama, presented by Genuine Broaster Chicken.

“The track was good on the final restart except for the sealer in certain areas that made it really slick and scary to ride,” said Elias. “The team did a good job to give me a competitive bike, but for me, I just lacked some confidence in the conditions. I’m happy with this second position even though I would have liked to have a little bit more. We have to enjoy this moment a little bit, but we will need to continue to work because many riders are going fast and will be coming for me.”

Hayes ended up 4.3 seconds adrift on the Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory YZF-R1.

“In the beginning of the race, experience or whatever, I kind of felt like I knew where things were,” said Hayes. “We had that red flag and that actually was a good thing for me since we had a technical issue with the bike. There was a little extra water on the track for the restart and I think that helped me early in the race, but once it began to dry the guys behind me seemed to have a little bit more. I think Mathew (Scholtz) and Toni (Elias) were a little bit more comfortable running on that lean angle. I just gave it my best with where I felt comfortable running at.”

Fourth place went to Cycle World Suzuki’s Hayden Gillim, the Kentuckian finishing second in the Bazzaz Superstock class behind Scholtz, who in the process of winning the Superbike class won his 10th Superstock race of the season.

Team WD-40/Scheibe Racing’s Jason DiSalvo had his best result of the season, riding the team’s BMW to fifth place. Sixth, and third in the Bazzaz Superstock class, went to TOBC Racing’s Danny Eslick.

Hudson Motorcycles/Helmet Sounds’ Bryce Prince, M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis, Strugess Cycle Kawasaki’s Kenny Riedmann and Quicksilver Latus Motors Kawasaki’s Bobby Fong rounded out the top 10 finishers.

Yesterday’s winner Roger Hayden elected not to race in the wet conditions. Ditto for Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Josh Herrin, the fill-in rider for the injured Cameron Beaubier leading the dry portion of the race prior to the first red flag.

Elias, who wrapped up the title last week in New Jersey, ended the season with 410 points after finishing first or second in every race except for two non-finishes. Hayden, despite sitting out Sunday’s race, finished second in the title chase with 322, 67 more than Beaubier.

Hayes managed to hold off Scholtz for fourth in the final standings, 223-216.

Gerloff Ends The Season In Style

Garrett Gerloff wanted to wrap up the Supersport title on Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park with a win, but instead he was forced to take the championship with a third-place finish after an off-track excursion early in the race. But on Sunday, Gerloff put a ribbon on his season by scoring his 11th victory of the year.

Gerloff and his Monster Energy/Yamalube/Y.E.S./Graves teammate and Saturday’s winner JD Beach had a battle until the closing stages when Beach was baulked by a pack of slower riders. That was all she wrote as Gerloff rode off to a 4.7-second win.

“JD (Beach) and I were both going fast out there,” said Gerloff. “The track was hot today and when it gets hot it gets greasy, which only allows you to go so fast I feel like. I had a good bike underneath me and there were a few places I thought my bike and I would be a little bit better than it was. It’s all about getting to the lappers first, JD got to a few early on before me and then I got to some others before him. My strategy is always to be the first guy to the lappers. I wasn’t going to hand this race over easy and was ready to push this thing until the end today. It was an awesome day and more memories were made here in my old hometown.”

Third place again went to M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Valentin Debise, the Frenchman replicating his finish from Saturday’s race. The same goes for Team H35 Honda’s Benny Solis, who finished fourth for the second straight day.

Riderz Law/Aguilar Racing’s Jason Aguilar won the Superstock 600 class again on Sunday, matching his effort from Saturday. This time, however, the win gave him the 2017 Superstock 600 title over his friend Michael Gilbert, who failed to make the start after crashing his Team MG55 Yamaha in the morning session and destroying it.

“Michael (Gilbert) made it a bit easy on me today with his bike catching on fire, which is unfortunate and not how you want to win it,” said Aguilar. “I had a great pace this weekend in both races and was able to get out front, run my pace, and not push it any harder than I really needed. This championship means a lot to me as I’ve been in this class a couple of years and have dealt with some injuries that set me back in recent years.”

Aguilar topped M4 medAge Suzuki’s Nick McFadden with Braeden Ortt finishing third on the Tuned Racing Yamaha R6.

Smith Takes KTM RC Cup Crown

Quarterley Racing/On Track Development’s Benjamin Smith won five KTM RC Cup races in 2017, but none meant as much as race win number five at Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday. That one earned him the 2017 KTM RC Cup Championship.

Smith beat Anthony Racing’s Gavin Anthony to the finish line by just .008 of a second after a hectic final lap that saw some 10 riders in the lead pack. Smith set himself up for a good drive out of the final corner and drafted past Anthony to take the victory. Anthony held on for second with Savage Racing’s Sean Ungvarsky on the podium for a second straight day with third place – just .128 of a second behind Smith.

Dylan Deutschlander had his best MotoAmerica finish in fourth with Smith’s teammate Draik Beauchamp and JP43 Junior Team’s Alex Dumas finishing sixth. The top six were separated by just .951 of a second and there would have been more in that group if not for a three-rider crash in the final corner on the last lap that included yesterday’s winner and the points leader going into the season finale, Cory Ventura.

Ventura, Toby Khamsouk and Trevor Standish crashed together in the last turn but all came away without serious injury.

The win gave Smith the title over Ventura by 16 points, 265-249, with Dumas ending up third with 233 points. Those three will represent MotoAmerica and KTM USA in the World Finals of the KTM RC Cup in Spain in Jerez in October. The race will be held in conjunction with the World Superbike race at Jerez.

“Five wins this season is awesome, but man this one is really special,” said Smith. “It was a hard-fought battle today, everyone up front was riding amazing, and these two guys (Gavin Anthony and Sean Ungvarsky) next to me were just flying. I had to do everything I could on that last lap to try and get the win. I’m really glad I got the win and pulled off the championship. Overall, it was a fantastic year and I learned so much throughout the course of the season.”