WESTBY RACING
NEWS AND UPDATES
Westby Racing Rides An Emotional Roller Coaster At Sonoma Raceway, Culminating In A Podium Result And A Top-Four Finish For Superbike Rider Mathew Scholtz
Sonoma, CA – August 11, 2019 –
The MotoAmerica Championship of Sonoma was a two-day race weekend, but for the Westby Racing team, it felt like they experienced a week’s worth of emotions in those 48 hours.
On Saturday, the disappointment of Mathew Scholtz’s morning crash during qualifying practice was countered by the excitement of his triumphant podium finish aboard the team’s backup #11 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 in the afternoon’s Superbike race one. And, like déjà vu, Mathew unfortunately crashed the backup motorcycle in the Sunday morning warmup. The team went to work quickly and rebuilt the bike with a full three hours to spare before the afternoon’s Superbike race two.
Then, just like on Saturday, it all came good in the race as Mathew was vying for a repeat podium result. He ultimately finished fourth in the 22-lap feature event, but considering the crashfest that the two mornings at Sonoma Raceway were for the team, to end the weekend with a third- and a fourth-place result--and the Championship points that accompany those finishes, which moved Mathew from seventh in the points standings up to sixth--it was a productive weekend for the Westby Racing team. In fact, in both races, Mathew was the top-finishing non-factory rider.
Commenting on his Sunday, Mathew said, “First of all, I have to give a huge thanks to the team for getting the bike ready for today’s race after I had another crash this morning. I crashed both of our bikes this weekend, which resulted in a lot of extra work for the Westby boys, and I’m sorry to (team owner) Tryg (Westby) for ruining some very expensive parts. Even with the podium yesterday and the fourth-place finish in today’s race, it doesn’t feel like I made up for my mistakes. We were able to collect some points and move up a position in the Championship, which is good, but I wish I could have done even better. Sonoma is a tough track, and it caught a lot of riders out, but I’m not making excuses. I’ve got to put this weekend behind me and two better in the next round.”
After a week off, Mathew and the Westby Racing team will be back in action for round eight of the 2019 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, which will be take place at Pittsburgh International Race Complex on August 23rd through 25th in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
MotoAmerica Superbike Standings
1. Toni Elias – Suzuki – 296
2. Cameron Beaubier – Yamaha – 232
3. Garrett Gerloff – Yamaha – 226
6. Mathew Scholtz – Yamaha – 139
For more updates on Westby Racing, including news, photos, and videos, visit “Westby Racing” on your favorite social media site.
