About Mathew Scholtz, #11 – 

Like so many road racers throughout the world, Mathew began racing in motocross at the age of five aboard a Yamaha PW50. From the beginning, he was a winner, and he quickly progressed through the different race classes in the South African national motocross series.

 

When he was 13, Mathew made the switch to road racing. In 2007, he notched nine race victories and was destined to win the 125cc South African National Championship, but he had to cut his season short because he was invited to try out for the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Championship. He got selected, and in 2008, 2009, and 2010, he raced in the Red Bull Rookies Cup--against several U.S. riders, including JD Beach, Jake Gagne, Hayden Gillim, and Benny Solis--where he notched one race win (at Brno in the Czech Republic) and several podium results.

 

Mathew raced in the Spanish CEV, German IDM, and FIM World Supersport Championships in 2011, 2012, and 2013.

 

In 2014, Mathew returned to his home country and raced in the Super600 National Championship where he finished as runner-up for the season title. In 2015, he climbed aboard a Yamaha YZF-R1 for the first time and competed in South Africa’s SuperGP National Championship where he finished second on the season.
 

In 2016, Mathew raced an R1 in MotoAmerica’s Superstock 1000 class, initially for another team before he joined Yamalube/Westby Racing for round seven of the nine-round series, at Utah Motorsports Campus (UMC) in Tooele, Utah. At UMC, Mathew notched two podium results in his very first race weekend with the team. He went on to record three more second-place finishes in the final two rounds of the 2016 MotoAmerica season, ending up seventh overall in the final Superstock 1000 Championship points standings.

 

After the 2016 MotoAmerica season concluded, Mathew went back to his homeland of South Africa, where he had been contesting the 2016 SuperGP National Championship. On October 29, riding his #20 ETR Nashua Yamaha R1, Mathew clinched the season title at Red Star Raceway outside Delmas, South Africa.

 

Mathew scored his first career MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 victory at Road Atlanta in 2017, and then went on to notch a total of 10 race wins and 19 podiums out of 20 starts to capture the Championship in dominant fashion.

 

At the season finale in Alabama in 2017—and in the rain, no less—Mathew held off 2017 MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Toni Elias and finished first overall on his Superstock 1000-spec YZF-R1. It was the first time any rider had ever won a MotoAmerica Superbike race aboard a Superstock 1000 machine.

 

In 2018, Mathew and the team moved up to Superbike, MotoAmerica’s premier motorcycle road racing class, and he notched a win as well as eight podium finishes. He finished fourth in the Championship season standings and earned Superbike rookie-of-the year honors at the end of the year.

 

2019 was Mathew’s sophomore season in MotoAmerica’s Superbike Series and, even though, he didn’t capture any wins on the season, his 13 top-five finishes and 5 podium results earned him 6th place in the Championship final standings.

 

Mathew’s 2020 season ended early due to the injuries he suffered in a crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but the season was still a high-water mark for him and the team. A model of consistency all season long, Mathew had 13 top-five finishes in 14 races, reached the podium 10 times, and was runner-up 6 times. He only had one DNF all season long, which occurred in Superbike race two at Road America 1 when he crashed after a trailing rider collided with him from behind. And, even though he was unable to compete in the final six races of the season, Mathew still finished fifth in the Championship final standings.

 

2021 marks Mathew’s fifth consecutive season as the lone Superbike rider for Westby Racing. Once again campaigning the iconic gold-and-black #11 Westby Racing Yamaha R1 Superbike, he and the team have their sights set squarely on the 2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.