Mathew Scholtz (11) leads PJ Jacobsen (15) and Teagg Hobbs (79) in Supersport action at Brainerd International Raceway on Sunday. (Photo by Brian J. Nelson)
By Paul Carruthers | June 16, 2024
Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen and Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz seem destined to battle every single race for the 2024 Supersport Championship, and that battle continued at Brainerd International Raceway on Sunday.
Scholtz won on Saturday with Jacobsen second and the South African won again on Sunday, again, with Jacobsen second. With his two victories here, Scholtz now has four wins on the season. The exact same number of wins as Jacobsen has in 2024.
With four rounds and eight races of the championship in the rear-view mirror, the pair are separated by just two measly points with Jacobsen on top, 171-169.
The top-two men in the MotoAmerica Supersport Championship were the top-two men on Saturday at BIR and they were the top-two men on Sunday, with the same result.
Jacobsen, who was racing in front of team owner Graham Rahal for the first time, managed to get to the back of Scholtz in the early laps before the South African gapped him slightly. With a handful of laps remaining, Jacobsen couldn’t do anything but settle for second, 4.4 seconds behind Scholtz at the finish line.
Behind those two was a great battle for third with the two Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzukis of Tyler Scott and Teagg Hobbs vs. Rahal Ducati Moto’s Corey Alexander. That battle went to the bitter end with Alexander making the pass on Scott on the last lap and beating him to the flag by just .023 of a second. It was Alexander’s comeback ride from the hip injury he suffered at Barber Motorsports Park four weeks ago.
Hobbs was right behind them, .343 of a second behind the duo, and fifth across the finish line.
“Yesterday we felt great,” Scholtz said. “Made a couple changes for the practice this morning. We went backwards, and then we went to yesterday’s settings for this race. It was just strange that I was only kind of stuck in the high 33s whereas yesterday I could do 33.3, 33.4 and didn’t feel like I was riding at the absolute limit. Today, if I tried to push more, I was running wide, missing the corners, tucking the front. So, I just have to go back and look at the data and figure out what I was doing differently. Definitely the first couple laps I thought that I would be gapping them, and PJ (Jacobsen) kept me honest. He definitely picked it up. I know that he’s coming. It’s good to see Corey (Alexander) up here, one of the two taller guys. So, that’s cool. Overall, happy to be taking the double. The team have been working really, really well, and just thank you to all the guys that have been supporting me. HJC, 4SR leathers, Alpinestars, the Strack Racing Company, everyone that makes this possible for me. Thank you.”
MotoAmerica | Paul Carruthers | Photo: Brian J. Nelson
