Scholtz doubles up at Barber as Ducati dominates SS and Rodio sweeps Hooligans

Round Three – Barber

Mathew Scholtz left Barber Motorsports Park with his MotoAmerica Superbike title campaign gathering real momentum, the Strack Racing Yamaha rider winning both races in Alabama to stretch his championship lead. Ducati also had plenty to celebrate in Supersport, with Josh Herrin, Darryn Binder and Kayla Yaakov locking out the Saturday podium before Binder won Sunday’s race. Gus Rodio, meanwhile, made the Mission Super Hooligan round his own with a Ducati Streetfighter V2 double.

Quad Lock Superbike

Mathew Scholtz underlined his early-season MotoAmerica Superbike form with a dominant Barber weekend, the Strack Racing Yamaha rider winning both races and leaving Alabama with a 34-point championship lead.

Sean Dylan Kelly had set the early tone on Friday, putting the OrangeCat Racing BMW on top of timed practice with a 1m22.908, the only rider to dip into the 22s around Barber’s 2.38-mile layout. Cameron Beaubier was close behind on the Warhorse HSBK Ducati, with Scholtz third after his Friday had started with a mechanical delay in the opening session.

Cameron Beaubier leads Sean Dylan Kelly and the chasing Superbike pack at Barber, but the Saturday race ultimately swung Mathew Scholtz’s way after the restart.

Beaubier then put the Ducati on pole for Saturday’s opening race, but Scholtz quickly turned the weekend his way. The South African made the better start, only for a red flag to interrupt the early fight. When the race restarted over eight laps, Scholtz did it again, nailed the launch, and disappeared up the road to win by 4.075 seconds.

JD Beach heads Bobby Fong, Richie Escalante and Hayden Gillim during the race-one podium fight, with Beach eventually snatching third on the run to the flag.

Beaubier’s restart was less clean, the defending champion dropping back to fourth entering Turn One. He fought his way back to second by lap four, but by then Scholtz had already established the break that decided the race. Behind them, the Attack Yamaha pairing of JD Beach and Bobby Fong were in the thick of the podium fight with Richie Escalante and Hayden Gillim, Beach ultimately grabbing third from Fong on the run to the flag.

Mathew Scholtz nailed the restart in Saturday’s shortened Superbike opener and quickly cleared off to claim the first leg of his Barber double.

Escalante made it five different riders inside six seconds of the winner with fifth on the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki, just ahead of Gillim on the Real Steel Honda. Kelly salvaged seventh after a violent qualifying crash, while Brandon Paasch, Andrew Lee and Deion Campbell completed the top ten.

Sunday was even more convincing from Scholtz. PJ Jacobsen led briefly on the opening lap aboard the Rahal Ducati, but Scholtz took the lead at the final corner of lap one and then controlled the 20-lap race from the front. He led every lap and won by 6.609 seconds, claiming the first Superbike double of his career.

Scholtz was again the class of the Superbike field on Sunday, controlling race two from the front to stretch his championship lead.

Beaubier had looked capable of putting pressure on Beach for second after moving up the order, but crashed at Charlotte’s Web and eventually finished 17th, three laps down. That non-score hurt heavily in championship terms, dropping the six-time champion to fifth in the standings.

Beach capitalised to take second and his second podium of the weekend, while Kelly completed a strong recovery from Saturday’s bruising qualifying crash with third on the BMW. Escalante again impressed with fourth after working his way forward from ninth on the grid, while Cameron Petersen bounced back from his Saturday DNF to finish fifth on the Wrench Motorcycles Ducati.

Sean Dylan Kelly makes his move on Bobby Fong during race two, the BMW rider going on to complete the Sunday Superbike podium.

Fong was sixth, Andrew Lee seventh, Paasch eighth, Geoff May ninth after a five-second jump-start penalty, and Max Flinders rounded out the top ten. Gillim was a Sunday DNF with a mechanical issue after being part of the Saturday lead group.

JD Beach added a second Barber podium on Sunday, finishing runner-up after Cameron Beaubier crashed out of contention.

Scholtz now leads the Superbike standings on 95 points, 34 clear of Kelly. Beach has climbed to third on 49, one point ahead of Fong, with Beaubier fifth on 47. The series now heads to Road America, where the long straights should give the Ducati and Suzuki runners a chance to hit back, but Scholtz and Strack Racing carry a major wave of momentum.

Mathew Scholtz: “I think it’s the first double on the Superbike for me. I got out front, maintained a pretty decent pace. I knew that I had to get past PJ as soon as I could… the gap just got bigger and bigger, and brought it home in first place. I’m still just shocked with how this year’s gone so far.”

Mathew Scholtz takes the applause from the Strack Racing Yamaha crew as he completes a commanding Barber Superbike double.

Andrew Lee also completed a perfect weekend in Superbike Cup, taking class honours in both races for Real Steel Honda. He finished ninth overall on Saturday and seventh outright on Sunday, extending his Cup lead to 95 points, 39 clear of Carl Soltisz.

Andrew Lee: “We went ‘one and one’ this weekend, so that’s obviously a really big positive. We closed the gap to the Superbike boys a little bit today too. I think that’s my main goal throughout the season: to keep closing that gap.”

Andrew Lee swept the Superbike Cup honours at Barber, backing up his Saturday class win with another strong ride on Sunday.

Superbike Race One Results

Pos

Rider

Bike

Time/Gap

1	M. Scholtz	Yam	11m16.060
2	C. Beaubier	Duc	+4.075
3	J. Beach	Yam	+4.933
4	B. Fong	Yam	+5.216
5	R. Escalante	Suz	+5.464
6	H. Gillim	Hon	+6.297
7	S. D. Kelly	BMW	+8.479
8	B. Paasch	Suz	+14.039
9	A. Lee	Hon	+14.353
10	D. Campbell	Yam	+17.106
11	G. May	Hon	+24.963
12	J. Uribe	BMW	+25.792
13	M. Flinders	Yam	+28.073
14	A. Dumas	Hon	+31.081
15	C. Soltisz	Hon	+31.102
16	J. Giannotto	Hon	+36.919
17	E. N. Aguilar	Hon	+1:03.157
NC	P. Jacobsen	Duc	DNS

Superbike Race Two Results

Superbike Championship Points

Superbike Cup Points

Supersport

Ducati had plenty to smile about in Supersport at Barber, with Josh Herrin leading a three-bike Ducati sweep in race one before Darryn Binder hit back in race two to leave Alabama with the championship lead.

Kayla Yaakov had already made history at Road Atlanta as the first female rider to earn an AMA/MotoAmerica Supersport podium, and she backed that up strongly at Barber. The Rahal Ducati Moto with Droplight rider took pole, set a new Supersport lap record at the venue, then added two more podiums across the weekend.

Race one was an interrupted affair, with red flags first following a Kevin Horney crash, then again after an incident involving Shane Maggs and Hayden Diedrich. Once the race settled into its final eight-lap run, the leading group was all about Ducati versus Ducati, with Herrin, Binder and Yaakov swapping the initiative while Tyler Scott kept his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki firmly in the podium conversation.

Herrin ultimately prevailed by just 0.067 seconds over Binder, while Yaakov completed the Ducati lockout only 0.229 seconds behind the winner. Scott was just 0.296 from victory in fourth, and veteran Joshua Hayes was fifth, still only 0.626 from the win after eight laps. Herrin also set the race’s fastest lap at 1m26.029.

Josh Herrin: “Congrats to Kayla on the pole. Congrats on the podium. Happy to see her up here. She was just this eight-year-old kid at the Herrin Compound. It’s special to see her up here battling with me. It fires me up when I see her go by me, that’s for sure.”

Sunday’s race two again needed a restart after Ryder Davis crashed and his bike was left in a dangerous position after a blind rise. Ella Dreher was unable to avoid the downed machine and was injured in the incident, though MotoAmerica reported her condition as stable and not serious.

Yaakov again made the holeshot and again looked comfortable at the front, but Binder was more assertive after the restart. The South African moved to the lead, lost it briefly to Yaakov, then retook control and held on to win by 0.192 seconds. Yaakov still took the fastest lap of the race with a 1m26.239, while also recording the highest listed speed in the session at 144.5 mph.

Scott won the drag race for the final podium spot, beating Herrin by just 0.009 seconds at the flag. Maximiliano Gerardo completed the top five for Altus Motorsports, narrowly ahead of Blake Davis, with Aiden Sneed, Torin Collins, Joshua Hayes and Alessandro Di Mario rounding out the top ten.

Darryn Binder: “I just tried to improve in the areas where I was a little bit bad yesterday. I just tried to stay in the front the whole time and control the race a bit. Happy to get the win today.”

Binder now leads the Supersport standings on 103 points, four clear of Herrin. Scott sits third on 85, with Yaakov fourth on 78 after another strong weekend on the Rahal Ducati. Blake Davis is fifth on 56.

Supersport Race One Results

Pos

Rider

Bike

Time/Diff

1	J. Herrin	Duc	11m38.204
2	D. Binder	Duc	+0.067
3	K. Yaakov	Duc	+0.229
4	T. Scott	Suz	+0.296
5	J. Hayes	Yam	+0.626
6	B. Davis	Yam	+1.690
7	D. Doyle	Yam	+4.254
8	A. Di Mario	Duc	+4.270
9	A. Sneed	Suz	+9.433
10	T. Collins	Yam	+9.583
11	A. Dreher	MV	+11.098
12	J. Waters	Duc	+11.475
13	M. Gerardo	Yam	+12.127
14	B. Ketelsen	Yam	+15.334
15	A. Enriquez	Yam	+15.478
16	J. Nassaney	Yam	+19.434
17	R. Davis	Duc	+20.450
18	C. King	Suz	+22.259
19	C. Black	Duc	+31.576
20	E. Zaragoza	Yam	+34.862
21	E. Dreher	MV	+39.745
22	C. Ivey	Yam	+44.975
23	G. Cowan	Suz	+45.347
24	A. Martinez	Suz	+46.397
25	J. Bean	Duc	+47.002
DNF	L. Cunnison	Suz	–
DNS	H. Diedrich	Suz	–
DNS	S. Maggs	Suz	–

Supersport Race Two Results

Supersport Championship Points

Super Hooligan

Gus Rodio made a spectacular return to the MotoAmerica winner’s circle at Barber Motorsports Park, the Rodio Racing rider taking a clean sweep of the Mission Super Hooligan races aboard his Ducati Streetfighter V2.

Barber marked the first Super Hooligan appearance at the Alabama venue, and Rodio wasted little time stamping his authority on the class. After setting the pace in qualifying, he converted pole into a dominant race-one victory, winning the eight-lap Saturday contest by 4.821 seconds over Bryce Kornbau on the BPR Racing Yamaha MT-09 SP. Robertino Pietri completed the podium aboard his COATZYMOTO LATINWE Yamaha XSR900.

Rodio’s race-one best of 1m27.283 was the fastest lap of the contest, and once he had clear track he was able to keep the gap moving in his favour. Behind him, Kornbau gave Yamaha a strong second, while Pietri’s third was one of the better stories of the race, the Sofía Vergara-backed Venezuelan putting the XSR900 on the podium.

Josh Herrin finished fourth on the OrangeCat Racing Lightfighter electric machine, narrowly ahead of Jason Waters on a Ducati. The Saddlemen Harley-Davidson Pan America squad, which had dominated the 2025 championship and swept the Daytona Super Hooligan podiums earlier this season, found Barber a more difficult proposition, with Cory West sixth, Corey Alexander seventh, James Rispoli eighth and Jake Lewis ninth.

Gus Rodio: “I haven’t stood on a MotoAmerica podium in years, let alone a race win. Last year, I kind of retired. So, this year, we’re on the top of the box.”

Sunday’s race was more of a fight, but the result was the same. Rodio again won, this time by 2.850 seconds, and lowered the class benchmark further with a 1m27.247 fastest lap. Herrin was the main threat, taking the Lightfighter V3-RH to second place, a notable result for electric machinery in AMA/MotoAmerica road racing.

Rispoli restored some Harley-Davidson Pan America presence to the podium with third in race two, a useful response after the factory-backed Saddlemen machines had not shown the same steamroller form as Daytona. Jason Waters was fourth, only 0.180 seconds behind Rispoli, while Jake Lewis completed the top five on another Pan America. Pietri backed up Saturday’s podium with sixth, ahead of Kornbau, Kaleb De Keyrel, Andy DiBrino and Hawk Mazzotta.

The double lifted Rodio to the top of the championship standings on 72 points. Rispoli sits second on 65, with Lewis third on 59 and Cory West fourth on 50, while Kornbau’s strong Barber weekend moved him to fifth on 48.

Gus Rodio: “It was almost the perfect weekend. I’m just genuinely having so much fun on this bike.”

Super Hooligan Race One Results

Pos

Rider

Bike

Time/Gap

1	G. Rodio	Duc	11m47.147
2	B. Kornbau	Yam	+4.821
3	R. Pietri	Yam	+5.987
4	J. Herrin	Lit	+6.976
5	J. Waters	Duc	+7.030
6	C. West	HD	+8.402
7	C. Alexander	Arc	+8.877
8	J. Rispoli	HD	+9.245
9	J. Lewis	HD	+9.779
10	A. DiBrino	Yam	+13.393
11	K. De Keyrel	Lit	+20.624
12	B. Gloddy	Duc	+23.673
13	H. Mazzotta	Yam	+24.981
14	H. Dunham	HD	+25.170
15	J. McWilliams	Arc	+34.625
16	N. Kern	BMW	+37.935
17	J. Taubman	Yam	+53.892
18	T. Carr	Yam	+54.808
19	K. Kearcher	Tri	+55.443
20	L. Eshelman	Yam	+1m01.867
21	J. Lane	Tri	+1m09.094
22	W. Cornelius	Ktm	+1m12.478
23	S. Shakespeare	HD	+1m12.665
24	A. Galloway	Yam	+1m14.682
25	J. P. Green	Yam	+1m15.207
26	L. Ruiz	Yam	+1m17.597
27	R. Vest	Ktm	+1m18.200
28	C. Clark	Tri	+1m18.248
29	A. Jaramillo	Tri	+1m20.672
30	J. Katzberg	Yam	+1m22.767
31	J. Powell	Yam	+1m26.725
32	D. dela Noche	Yam	+1m27.724
33	D. Dominguez	Tri	+1m30.254

Super Hooligan Race Two Results

Super Hooligan Championship Points