Throughout the off-season, and with it widely known that six-time and defending Champion Cameron Beaubier had taken his talents to Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law where his number-one plate would adorn a brand-new Ducati Panigale V4 R equipped with a double-sided swingarm that ups the ante on the already ultra-potent Superbike, a lot of people in the MotoAmerica paddock speculated that Beaubier would run the table and win every Quad Lock Superbike race this season.

And then, the season started at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

You know that feeling you get when you bid on something at an auction? When someone snipes you at the end, outbids you, and snatches the item right out from under you? It makes you want that item even more.

That’s exactly how Mathew Scholtz felt at the end of 2023 when his Superbike ride was snatched right out from under him. Like the Grinch did to all the Whos down in Whoville, Scholtz’s Superbike ride was taken from him during the holidays. Westby Racing was disbanded, “and the one speck of food that was left in the house was a crumb that was even too small for a mouse.”

Exiled without many options, Scholtz somewhat reluctantly signed a contract with Strack Racing to compete in the Supersport Championship.

Don’t get me wrong. The South African greatly appreciated that Peter and Jessica Strack wanted him on their team, and Scholtz obviously made the most of his two-year tour of duty on middleweight machinery. A total of 19 race wins, 31 podium finishes, and two consecutive Supersport Championships provided ample evidence that he is still one of the very best and brightest racers in the MotoAmerica paddock, if not the world.

You couldn’t write a better script if you tried: Former Superbike rider loses his ride, moves “down” to Supersport, wins two championships, moves back up to Superbike, and makes his return at his home track and in front of his closest friends.

That analogy about wanting something even more when someone takes it away from you? Scholtz absolutely released the hounds at Road Atlanta. He earned the pole, got an incredible holeshot in Saturday’s race one, got another holeshot on the red-flagged restart, and went on to win the race by more than six-and-a-half seconds, a gap that is almost unheard of in MotoAmerica Superbike racing. He was headed for a carbon-copy finish in Sunday’s race two. Once again, he got the holeshot, pulled a gap, and extended it as the laps wound done. The only thing that conspired against his fairytale weekend was a technical issue with his #11 Yamaha YZF-R1, which led to Bobby Fong passing him on the penultimate lap and taking the win with Scholtz finishing second.

Meanwhile, Beaubier suffered the indignity of falling down on his outlap during Saturday’s Superbike Time Attack session, which resulted in him having to start at the back of the grid for both of the weekend’s races (including Saturday’s red-flag-induced restart).

And so, Cameron Beaubier is not going to run the table and win every Quad Lock Superbike race this season. That, we now know. What we don’t know is how Beaubier will bounce back at Barber (“Beaubier Barber Bounce Back”—see what I did there with the four-word alliteration?).

We also don’t know how Scholtz will do at Barber. We can speculate that the ungodly top speed of Beaubier’s Ducati won’t be much help to him at the late George Barber’s tight and twisty Alabama road course. And there is also the fact that Scholtz does well on the Yamaha at Barber.

In 2017, he made history by becoming the only MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 rider to notch a Superbike victory, and it was in the final race of the season at Barber Motorsports Park. Moreover, in 13 Superbike races at Barber Motorsports Park during a span of six years, aside from one DNF, Scholtz finished on the podium in all but two races. And, among those podium finishes, he notched two wins and four runner-up results.

However, Beaubier notched his eighth Barber Superbike win last year, and he is now just one victory behind all-time Barber Superbike wins leader Mat Mladin. It’s doubtful that tying Mladin and/or surpassing him adds any more motivation for Beaubier to win this weekend in Alabama, though. He is a rider whose motivation smolders within him and catches fire whenever he lowers the faceshield on his helmet.

Not only might Beaubier have something to say about Scholtz getting another victory, but Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Bobby Fong probably will, too, as well as OrangeCat Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly, Wrench Motorcycles’ Cam Petersen, Beaubier’s Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law teammate Benjamin Smith, the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki tandem of Richie Escalante and Brandon Paasch, and Real Steel Honda’s Hayden Gillim, among others.

Scholtz scolded his competitors at Road Atlanta, but can he do it again this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park? Trust me, you do not want to miss seeing how this all unfolds.

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