Round two of the 2021 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship starts this Friday at VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, and current Superbike points leader Mathew Scholtz, along with his Westby Racing team, will be looking to build on his race win and runner-up finish from round one at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

Meanwhile, JR12 Racing/Westby Racing’s Junior Cup rider Jack Roach is eager for more seat time aboard his Yamaha YZF-R3, especially at a track that is new to him.

For Mathew, VIR’s 14-turn, 2.25-mile natural road course is one of his favorite racetracks on the MotoAmerica schedule, and he’s looking forward to returning there after MotoAmerica took a one-year hiatus from the venue due to COVID-19.

“I’m excited to get the VIR round started this weekend, especially after coming off a solid round at Road Atlanta,” Mathew said. “I know that we are going to have our work cut out for us this weekend, but VIR has always been a very strong track for me. It really suits my riding style. There are a lot of switchbacks, and you need a lot of front-end feel with those, which the Westby Racing Yamaha R1 Superbike has in spades. I’ve been training extremely hard on the motocross bike the past few days, and I feel a lot more confident than I ever have. I’m just going to take things as they come, but I’m expecting some pretty good results and to be fighting up front as usual. We’re looking to get up to speed quickly so we can work on our race pace. I feel like we are getting stronger every time I’m on the bike, and we have a solid game plan for how to improve the areas where we were a little bit weak in the first race weekend. All is well, and I can’t wait to see all the Westby crew and carrying on with where we left off at Atlanta, which is to maintain the lead up front.”

Superbike final qualifying is on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. ET, Superbike race one will go green on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET, and Superbike Race 2 is on Sunday afternoon also at 3 p.m. ET.

For Jack, VIR presents a new challenge. He has never before raced at the venue, and his only experience there was gained during a track day earlier this year in what turned out to be wet conditions. But the young Brit, who now lives in Canada and races here in America, is used to new experiences, and he goes into Virginia with his usual level of gusto and enthusiasm.

Jack commented, “Following what was a very tough first round at Road Atlanta, I am as hungry as ever for results. I’ve just got to transfer that hunger into speed on the track, which I know I can do. I have no excuses now because (Westby Racing team manager) Chuck Giacchetto has dedicated a lot of his time to the Yamaha R3, and I’m very grateful for that. VIR is a track that I don’t have a lot of experience at, but my plan is to take it corner by corner, lap after lap, and session by session. I’m super-excited, and I can’t wait for the race weekend to begin.”

Junior Cup race one starts on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET, and Junior Cup race two is on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.