Scholtz Bolts To The Win At Road Atlanta For His First Road Racing Victory On U.S. Soil

Braselton, GA - April 29, 2017 – Before Friday, Yamalube/Westby Racing rider Mathew Scholtz had never been to Road Atlanta, let alone raced there. In fact, it’s the second weekend in a row that the South African phenom has raced his #11 Yamalube/Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock 1000 bike on a completely unfamiliar U.S. racetrack. And, after notching two second-place finishes last weekend in Texas, Mathew has already one-upped himself…and there’s one more day and one more race to go this weekend.

On Saturday at Road Atlanta, not only did he qualify as fastest Superstock 1000 rider, but in the afternoon’s Superstock 1000 race, the 2016 South African SuperGP National Champion notched his first victory on U.S. soil and his 11th podium out of 14 MotoAmerica starts. That’s quite a string of success for someone so new to road racing a motorcycle in the U.S.

For the third race in a row, Mathew found himself chasing down the fast-starting Bobby Fong. And, the third time was the charm as he not only passed Fong, but he made the pass stick and was able to maintain his lead all the way to the checkered flag.

“I thought we had the overall pace today,” Mathew said. “But, Bobby (Fong) was running a great race. It’s Yamalube’s and Westby Racing’s home track here at Road Atlanta, and even though I had never raced on it before, my team knows it well, and they worked hard to get me comfortable on the bike at this track. So, I’m very happy to get my first American win here at Road Atlanta. It was a tough race with Bobby, just like it was in both races last weekend. In Turn 10 here, I knew that my braking points were a little bit deeper than Bobby’s, so I went for the pass and it stuck. He almost got back by me on the final lap, but I held my position, and I’m happy to dedicate this first win to Tryg (Westby) and the whole team!”

Mathew and the Yamalube/Westby Racing team will race again at Road Atlanta tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 PM EST. The race will be broadcast live on beIN Sports.

MOTO-D is a Technical Partner for Westby Racing which includes the use of their Strapless Transport Stands which secures their bikes for transport on their trailers to all MotoAmerica Rounds. Learn more about MOTO-D Strapless Transport stands at www.motodracing.com

For more updates on Yamalube/Westby Racing, including news, photos, and videos, visit www.westbyracing.com