Mathew Scholtz Strengthens Championship Lead with Barber Superbike Sweep
Strack Racing Yamaha's Mathew Scholtz extends his MotoAmerica Superbike Championship lead with a pair of victories, while Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s JD Beach earns his first podiums of the season / May 18, 2026 /
After a strong debut aboard the Strack Racing Yamaha R1 at the MotoAmerica Superbike opener at Road Atlanta, Mathew Scholtz raised the bar at Round 2 at Barber Motorsports Park with a dominant weekend sweep. It was a statement ride from the back-to-back MotoAmerica Supersport champ, who thus far has three wins and a runner-up finish to give him a healthy 34-point lead early in the title chase.
It was also a strong weekend for fellow Yamaha BLU CRU rider JD Beach. Although the weekend didn’t start out smoothly, the Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing rider continued to make improvements, with Beach earning a pair of podium finishes in just his second full-time Superbike round with the squad.
Superbike Race 1 was an intense battle on the 2.38-mile circuit in Leeds, Alabama. Scholtz grabbed the holeshot, with the Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing duo of Bobby Fong and Beach also getting strong starts inside the top five despite not qualifying on the front row. The teammates battled throughout the opening laps before settling into fourth and fifth, respectively. Just before half-race distance, PJ Jacobsen crashed, moving them both up a spot before bringing out the red flag.
After the restart, Scholtz once again nailed the start and quickly began to distance himself from the field, putting in consistently fast laps to secure the win by a healthy four-second margin.
Behind him, Fong slotted into second and Beach third after the restart, with the duo remaining in the thick of a multi-rider fight for the podium positions. Beach battled with Cameron Beaubier and was shuffled back to fourth, while Fong was also passed by the reigning champion with around four laps to go. In the closing laps, Beach continued to push, making a decisive move in Charlotte’s Web on the final lap to secure third – his first podium of the season – with Fong finishing right behind in fourth.
Race 2 featured many of the same players, with Scholtz once again asserting himself early. After slotting into second off the start, the South African took over the lead on the opening lap and quickly began building a gap.
Beach once again showed a strong pace, quickly moving into podium contention after starting sixth. The Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing rider made his way into second on Lap 3 and once again found himself battling with Beaubier, who briefly passed him before crashing shortly after. From there, Beach settled into a strong pace and rode a lonely race in second.
In fourth after the start, Fong remained locked in a multi-rider battle for the podium position. He was shuffled back to fifth on that opening lap and continued to fight. Fong made his way back to fourth and then into third after Beaubier’s crash, but ultimately dropped back to sixth in the latter half of the race.
At the front, Scholtz continued to control the race, securing his second dominant victory of the weekend by a margin of 6.6 seconds. Beach followed him home in second and moved to third in the championship standings, with Fong sitting fourth and trailing his teammate by a point.
“Coming into the Barber weekend, I was pretty excited,” said Scholtz. “It's been a good track for me. After having a great outing with the team at the first race, I was excited to get back on it and carry on working on the development of the Yamaha R1. We definitely had some setbacks during the practice sessions, but when we needed to come through in the race, we did. To come out with a double win – I couldn't be happier. I’m thankful for the situation that I'm in and looking forward to going to Road America. It's been a bit of a difficult track for me in the past, but this season, everything feels different.”
In MotoAmerica Supersport, Scholtz’s teammate, Blake Davis, continued to show speed in the highly competitive class. After qualifying seventh, the young Virginian battled inside the lead group in both races. Race 1 featured multiple red flags and restarts, but Davis remained firmly in the mix throughout, running as high as third before ultimately finishing sixth. In Race 2, the Strack Racing Yamaha rider once again battled inside the top five before securing another sixth-place finish.
Liberty St. Yamaha Racing’s Dominic Doyle also continued to make progress in the Supersport class. After qualifying 11th, Doyle improved throughout the weekend and worked his way to seventh in Race 1. In Race 2, he was once again battling inside the top 10 before an unfortunate crash with around five laps remaining ended his race early.