“Time To Finish Off The Year Strong” – Mathew Scholtz
The 2026 Quad Lock MotoAmerica Superbike Championship has been one of the most unpredictable in recent memory, a series of races and winners that, by mid-season, meant anyone of six riders could have walked away with the title.
For Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, the two-time MotoAmerica Supersport Champion and one-time Stock 1000 series winner, his season started off in the best possible fashion, winning on his return to the class in race one at Road Atlanta and backing that up with a double win at his “home” round of Barber Motorsports Park in round two.
By that stage, the South African looked the class of the field, his double-blue #11 Yamaha YZF-R1 streaking clear of the chasing pack almost at will. But round three is where the brakes started to be applied to his title chances as a sixth place and a DNF at Road America was a sign of things to come.
A double podium at Ridge Motorsports Park followed, then a fourth and a DNF at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca meant Scholtz was slowly but surely losing points in the championship chase to BMW’s Sean Dylan Kelly.
A return to the winner’s circle followed in a shortened race two at Mid-Ohio, and a pair of podiums in races one and two at VIR were partnered with a crucial DNF when Bobby Fong, Cameron Petersen and Benjamin Smith all went down at turn one in race three. Championship leader Kelly also went down but remounted for a single point in 15th.
Then came the killer, as Scholtz’s Strack Racing Yamaha suffered two mechanical failures in the searing heat of Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, meaning the number 11 is now 46 points away from the title summit as the series heads to New Jersey Motorsports Park for the 2026 finale.
“We were firmly in the title hunt, and then unfortunately the last three races we’ve been handed zeros,” Scholtz says. “At VIR we got hit in the first corner, and then we had two mechanicals at COTA. But overall, New Jersey’s been a very good track for me, and I just want to finish off the season strong. We did a test out here, so it’s going to be good to finally come to a circuit and start off at a relatively decent point, so we can be fighting early on. But I think the biggest thing is going to be seeing what the weather is doing this weekend.”
The famously fickle New Jersey weather could throw a big wrench in the works this weekend, with showers forecasted for both Saturday and Sunday’s three races. Scholtz is a known wet weather specialist, and although that 46-point championship deficit is a big one, he’s not out of it yet with 75 points to play for at NJMP, meaning a little rain might be a welcome addition for the South African.
“I had an awesome race in the rain here a couple of years ago,” Scholtz says, “but unfortunately, I crashed then, so I’ve just got to keep the bike rubber side down. Jersey’s grip level changes a lot, and it forms puddles in a couple of corners, but I’m wary of where those are. Overall, I’m just going to take things as they come, whether it’s wet or dry. I think we should be fighting at the sharp end of the field.”
If the possibility of the championship isn’t enough of a motivation for Scholtz, he will have his brother in town to lend a little extra family support to the cause.
“My team actually surprised me and got my brother a ticket to come out to the final round of the season, which is cool,” Scholtz says. “I don’t think he’s been here in six or seven years, so it’s cool to have my brother out here helping support me in the final race of the season. And, yeah, obviously I’ve got to charge and do as well as I can to make that trip worth it, I guess!”
Regardless of the outcome for 2026, Scholtz will return to the Quad Lock MotoAmerica Superbike field for 2027, although just who he will be racing for is still up in the air.
“We’re working with Strack and talking things through, maybe with them, maybe somewhere else, we don’t know,” Scholtz says. “But, for sure, 100 percent I’ll be back in the paddock on a Superbike, that’s all I can say at this point.”
