VOLUME 59 ISSUE 14 APRIL 5, 2022 P77
#11 MATHEW SCHOLTZ
WESTBY RACING YAMAHA
Scholtz will be the first to tell you that 2021 was
not the year he expected. With former sparring
partner Cameron Beaubier gone to Moto2,
2021 looked the year Scholtz might fulfill the
undoubted promise he'd shown over the past
two seasons on the black and gold Yamaha. The
thing was no one counted on Gagne going on
the tear he did. Scholtz and Westby Racing were
left reeling and have spent the winter hibernation
rebuilding their R1 to be as good a contender
against Gagne's machine as possible. With so
much budget dedicated to the new bike, the
team opted not to contest the expensive Daytona
200, with every available effort now put towards
race wins and a championship challenge in
MotoAmerica Superbike.
#9 DANILO PETRUCCI
WARHORSE HSBK RACING DUCATI NEW YORK
One of the star attractions for MotoAmerica 2022
will be the uber-popular Italian, Danilo Petrucci. A two-time
MotoGP race winner, including a heartwarming triumph
in front of his home fans in Mugello in 2019 while on the
factory Ducati, Petrucci also covered himself in glory by
winning a stage of the Dakar Rally as
a rookie on the Tech3 KTM against
the very best off-road racers in the
world.
Always with a smile and a laugh,
Petrucci's time as a MotoGP rider
came to an end after a dismal 2021
season for Tech3 KTM in which he
finished 21st and was forced to make
way for incoming rookie, Moto2 World
Champion Remy Gardner. A change
of scenery was in order, and a move
to MotoAmerica will be MotoGP's
loss and America's gain. He'll be up
against it with a paddock of riders
used to the very different racetracks
and an unfamiliar Warhorse HSBK
Racing Ducati New York Panigale V4
SBK, but then, no one expected him
to win a stage in the Dakar, either.
