perhaps the hungriest rider in the
field and will certainly give his all
to stick with the front runners.
One other rider who cannot
be left off the list of potential
MotoAmerica Superbike Cham-
pions in 2021 is Westby Rac-
ing Yamaha's Mathew Scholtz.
Owned by former AMA Superbike
racer Tryg Westby, the Westby
Racing umbrella is expanding,
assisting several teams in vari-
ous MotoAmerica classes this
year. Westby's Team Manager
Chuck Giacchetto has emerged
as the go-to guy when it comes
to getting a handle on how to get
the most out of a limited budget,
private-entry race bike.
Scholtz has had a tough time
putting together an entire season
sans injury. Sometimes viewed
as an overachiever, Scholtz is
still remembered for his remark-
able Superbike victory in the 2017
season finale at Barber Motors-
ports Park, where he became the
first, and to date, only rider to win
a MotoAmerica Superbike race
on a Stock 1000-spec machine.
Scholtz is a rain master and won
his second-career Superbike race
one a wet COTA in 2018, so if we
have a wet summer, watch out!
Regardless of the weather, Scholtz
certainly has the experience, the
team and the machine to win.
Even more international flare
was added to the MotoAmerica
Superbike grid when it was
learned that Hector Barbera, a 10-
time World Championship Grand
Prix winner (in the 125cc and
250cc classes), will join Scheibe
BMW. To date no one has been
able to consistently put that team's
BMW S 1000 RR up front, but
Barbera certainly represents out-
of-the-box thinking and 17 years
of Grand Prix racing experience
counts for a lot, so perhaps that
combo will make a the Scheibe
entry a win contender.
Other riders to watch for
2021 MOTOAMERICA PREVIEW
P94
FEATURE
Richie Escalante
(Honos Racing
Kawasaki) will be
back to defend his
Supersport title.
