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.

 

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

 

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 raced it 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, UT. 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.

 

In 2017, Mathew scored his first career MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 victory at Road Atlanta. Then, he 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—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’s already notched a win as well as eight top-five finishes…and counting. He’s currently third in the Championship standings, the highest-ranked privateer rider in the series, and destined for Superbike rookie-of-the year honors at the end of the year.