Mathew Scholtz piloted his Strack Racing Yamaha to a hard-fought victory on Sunday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, emerging triumphant in a dramatic MotoAmerica Quad Lock Superbike Race 2, securing his fourth win of the 2026 season. Halted twice by red flags, Scholtz crossed the line a mere 0.177 seconds ahead of OrangeCat Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly, with Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Bobby Fong securing third place as the race was called.

The afternoon was defined by high-stakes drama from the outset. Pole-sitter Benjamin Smith saw his hopes of a first victory evaporate on the opening lap. Smith suffered a significant crash that sent his Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law motorcycle across the track, creating a hazardous situation that forced an immediate red flag and a full restart.

Benjamin Smith (#78) lost control in the opening lap of the initial Race 2 start, drawing a red flag. The polesitter was unable to rejoin for the restart. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

Following the cleanup, the field was reset for an abbreviated race distance. The restart showed Saturday’s Race 1 winner SDK take advantage of the leading grid position, following Smith’s crash, while a familiar field with Fong and Scholtz giving chase, as M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante found himself in fourth.

Saturday’s Race 1 winner, SDK (#40), took advantage of the lead position on restart to push the pace ahead of Fong (#50), Escalante (#54), Jacobsen (#15) and the rest of the Quad Lock Superbike field. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

One of the most notable storylines of the race involved PJ Jacobsen (Rahal Ducati Moto with XPEL), who made a charge that would see him setting an unmatched pace and a position as high as third. Jacobsen crossed the finish line with the fastest lap of the race (1:25.009) before the rider crashed out, causing the action to be interrupted a second time as it drew a red flag.

Scholtz (Strack Racing), found the front in a dramatic Race 2, with SDK (OrangeCat Racing), Jacobsen (Rahal Ducati Moto with XPEL), and Fong (Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing) in tow. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

With nine laps completed at the time, official rules forced an early end, where results were awarded based on the standings at the time of stoppage. Under these conditions, Scholtz secured the win over SDK in second, while Fong was awarded third, the position Jacobsen was currently in, after the Ducati rider’s position received its appropriate time adjustment from the Race Stewards. Jacobsen dropped to 17th in the final classification.

Loris Baz, who topped the Sunday morning warm-up session with a time of 1:25.362, brought his Warhorse HSBK Ducati home in fourth place. He was followed by Wrench Motorcycles’ Cameron Petersen, who rounded out the top five. Jayson Uribe (OrangeCat Racing) and Brandon Paasch (M4 ECSTAR Suzuki) finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

Several top contenders faced a difficult Sunday, with Richie Escalante and Hayden Gillim both failing to finish (DNF) after starting from the front two rows of the grid but crashing out in the duration of the second race restart. Despite the chaotic nature of the day, the battle at the front remained fierce, with the top four riders separated by less than two seconds at the final tally.

With three rounds remaining, which include two triple-headers on the 2026 calendar, a maximum of 150 points remains available in the tightly contested Quad Lock Superbike and Superbike Cup championships as they head to Virginia International Raceway.

Superbike Cup – Real Deal with Real Steel Honda

In the Superbike Cup, Andrew Lee delivered a standout performance, finishing 10th overall to claim the top spot on the Cup podium. Riding his Real Steel Honda, Lee navigated the abbreviated race distance to cross the line ahead of the Cup collective, in a championship that continues to add points to his already favorable lead.

Kaleb De Keyrel followed closely to secure second in the Cup class and 11th overall on his OrangeCat Racing BMW’s debut weekend, while Deion Campbell rounded out the category podium with a 12th-place overall finish aboard his BPR Racing Yamaha.

Andrew Lee (#14) continues his winning ways in Superbike Cup, as he leads Ashton Yates (#46), fellow Cup competitor, Kaleb DeKeyrel (#51), and Deion Campbell (#194). Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

Quad Lock Superbike Race 2 Results

1.  Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)

2. Sean Dylan Kelly (BMW)

3. Bobby Fong (Yamaha)

4. Loris Baz (Ducati)

5. Cameron Petersen (Ducati)

6. Jayson Uribe (BMW)

7. Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)

8. JD Beach (Yamaha)

9. Ashton Yates (Honda)

10.   Andrew Lee (Honda – Superbike Cup)

Superbike Cup

1.  Andrew Lee (Honda)

2. Kaleb DeKeyrel (BMW)

3. Deion Campbell (Yamaha )

The following quote is from Quad Lock Superbike Race 2 Winner Mathew Scholtz:

“Obviously, I want to win. I did get lucky there. I definitely felt like the front was really starting to drop off on me, but sometimes it works for you, and it definitely did today. Yesterday’s race was terrible for us. We kind of dropped off early on. So, we took a gamble today. Completely changed the bike upside-down, different way the software works. It definitely paid off. Those first couple laps behind Bobby and Sean, I definitely figured a few things out. The goal was once I got out to the front, just to make myself as wide as I possibly can. I was definitely ready for that fight. Thankful to be up here. Thank you to the Strack Racing Team. We pulled that one out of the bag. Thank you.”     

The following quote is from Superbike Cup Race 2 Winner Andrew Lee:

“We went 1-1 this weekend. Really happy with the end results. We tried a lot on the bike this weekend and it was productive to collect the data. VIR next, another great opportunity to keep the learning and progress going!”

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