In one of the closest qualifying sessions in recent memory, Benjamin Smith claimed the pole position for Saturday’s Quad Lock Superbike Race 1 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where he piloted his Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law machine to a blistering 1:24.070 lap around the 2.4-mile circuit to secure the top spot, followed by 11 class riders that registered laps within the 1:24s.
Like much of the 2026 season, nothing was guaranteed and from the early stages Saturday’s race appeared to promise rain, and lap times suggested it could have been anyone’s race, as class leaders bounced between the front of the field to beyond the top 10 from Friday to Saturday.
When the lights went out, what unraveled was a race that featured three different leaders and razor-thin margins, and ended with Sean Dylan Kelly piloting his OrangeCat Racing BMW to a hard-fought third win, and ninth podium of the 2026 season.
The race began with a front row led by Smith, who had grabbed pole by a mere .005 of a second over SDK, and that qualifying intensity carried directly into the race as the lights went out. SDK grabbed the early advantage, leading the first two laps before pole-sitter Smith surged ahead on lap three. Smith held the lead through lap seven, fending off a charging pack that refused to let him escape.
The momentum shifted on lap eight when Bobby Fong, riding for Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing, took over at the front. Fong appeared to be the man to beat, setting the fastest lap of the race—a 1:24.770—while leading the field through the middle stages. However, SDK remained within striking distance, eventually reclaiming the lead on Lap 14 and holding firm until the checkered flag.
Fong secured second place, while his teammate JD Beach completed a strong day for the Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing squad by finishing third. Smith, after leading early, eventually crossed the line in fourth, followed closely by his Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law teammate, Loris Baz, in fifth.
Further down the order, Mathew Scholtz (Strack Racing) took sixth, while Hayden Gillim (Real Steel Honda) and Richie Escalante (M4 ECSTAR Suzuki) finished seventh and eighth respectively. Jayson Uribe (OrangeCat Racing) and PJ Jacobsen (Rahal Ducati Moto with XPEL) rounded out the top 10 in a field that saw high-paced action from start to finish.
SDK adds nine points to his championship lead (197) over Beach (177), as Scholtz falls further back (168) after today’s result. The three riders each have three wins this season as they enter Race 2 tomorrow at Mid-Ohio.
Quad Lock Superbike Race 1
The following quote is from Quad Lock Superbike Race 1 Winner Sean Dylan Kelly:
“That’s obviously exactly what I wanted to do, especially after a day like yesterday. I felt so strong. I felt so comfortable on my BMW, straight out of the gate. First of all, thank you to my whole crew, Orange Cat Racing Team, BMW, Motorrad Motorsport. Thank you so much. You guys are giving me a beast of a bike. I was a little concerned today about the weather, to see what was going to come up, but I think we got a little bit lucky and ended up dry. We took a little bit of a gamble at the end with what tire to choose, but clearly we chose the right one. Beginning of the race was a little bit difficult with those guys in front having some really good pace in the 24s. I felt like I was going to have something at the end. That was nice. It was so good to get into the lead with a few laps to go. Every time I passed by I saw the gap was getting bigger. That’s a really good feeling. Really important day. Huge thank you to everybody. Thank you to all the fans. You guys are absolutely awesome. Thank you to 1-833-CJKNOWS, Red Crown, Palm Beach Police and Fire Foundation, and last but not least, happy National Girlfriend Day.”
Mathew Scholtz piloted his Strack Racing Yamaha to a hard-fought victory on Sunday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, emerging triumphant in a dramatic MotoAmerica Quad Lock Superbike Race 2, securing his fourth win of the 2026 season. Halted twice by red flags, Scholtz crossed the line a mere 0.177 seconds ahead of OrangeCat Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly, with Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Bobby Fong securing third place as the race was called.
The afternoon was defined by high-stakes drama from the outset. Pole-sitter Benjamin Smith saw his hopes of a first victory evaporate on the opening lap. Smith suffered a significant crash that sent his Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law motorcycle across the track, creating a hazardous situation that forced an immediate red flag and a full restart.
Following the cleanup, the field was reset for an abbreviated race distance. The restart showed Saturday’s Race 1 winner SDK take advantage of the leading grid position, following Smith’s crash, while a familiar field with Fong and Scholtz giving chase, as M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante found himself in fourth.
One of the most notable storylines of the race involved PJ Jacobsen (Rahal Ducati Moto with XPEL), who made a charge that would see him setting an unmatched pace and a position as high as third. Jacobsen crossed the finish line with the fastest lap of the race (1:25.009) before the rider crashed out, causing the action to be interrupted a second time as it drew a red flag.
With nine laps completed at the time, official rules forced an early end, where results were awarded based on the standings at the time of stoppage. Under these conditions, Scholtz secured the win over SDK in second, while Fong was awarded third, the position Jacobsen was currently in, after the Ducati rider’s position received its appropriate time adjustment from the Race Stewards. Jacobsen dropped to 17th in the final classification.
Loris Baz, who topped the Sunday morning warm-up session with a time of 1:25.362, brought his Warhorse HSBK Ducati home in fourth place. He was followed by Wrench Motorcycles’ Cameron Petersen, who rounded out the top five. Jayson Uribe (OrangeCat Racing) and Brandon Paasch (M4 ECSTAR Suzuki) finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
Several top contenders faced a difficult Sunday, with Richie Escalante and Hayden Gillim both failing to finish (DNF) after starting from the front two rows of the grid but crashing out in the duration of the second race restart. Despite the chaotic nature of the day, the battle at the front remained fierce, with the top four riders separated by less than two seconds at the final tally.
With three rounds remaining, which include two triple-headers on the 2026 calendar, a maximum of 150 points remains available in the tightly contested Quad Lock Superbike and Superbike Cup championships as they head to Virginia International Raceway.
Quad Lock Superbike Race 2 Results
1. Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
2. Sean Dylan Kelly (BMW)
3. Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
4. Loris Baz (Ducati)
5. Cameron Petersen (Ducati)
6. Jayson Uribe (BMW)
7. Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
8. JD Beach (Yamaha)
9. Ashton Yates (Honda)
10. Andrew Lee (Honda – Superbike Cup)
The following quote is from Quad Lock Superbike Race 2 Winner Mathew Scholtz:
“Obviously, I want to win. I did get lucky there. I definitely felt like the front was really starting to drop off on me, but sometimes it works for you, and it definitely did today. Yesterday’s race was terrible for us. We kind of dropped off early on. So, we took a gamble today. Completely changed the bike upside-down, different way the software works. It definitely paid off. Those first couple laps behind Bobby and Sean, I definitely figured a few things out. The goal was once I got out to the front, just to make myself as wide as I possibly can. I was definitely ready for that fight. Thankful to be up here. Thank you to the Strack Racing Team. We pulled that one out of the bag. Thank you.”
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